The UFOGB Takeover - Heidi Swedberg/Daniel Ward, Christopher Davis Shannon and Matt Hicks 8/8/26 12pm Start

The Ukulele Festival of Great Britain returns in August 2026! This means that lots of great acts will be in the UK on tour throughout August. With our Flight Takeover event in July being sold out for months; we wanted to support these artists by putting on an event for them in the build up to Ukulele Festival of Great Britain.

Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg have visited Southern Ukulele Store just a handful of times over the last 18 years with each event being highly regarded as one of the best things we've ever put together. They reached out and informed me that we are on the way to Cheltenham from the ferry port at Poole so lets build an event around it... Daniel and Heidi have a gorgeous act rooted in bluegrass and folk music with a bit of tongue in cheek humour and flavour. They also happen to be two of the worlds best Ukulele teachers so join them for a workshop on Melodic Meditations with a little cheeky bit of the Rumba strum at the end!

Christopher Davis Shannon needs no introduction; he is simply so good that I keep inviting him back to these takeover events. He has been here more than any other artist/teacher since we opened our new store here in the Absolute Music Centre and he arrives each time with no hand out sheet, no chalk board and just captivates a room. I have never seen someone walk away from one of his workshops uninspired. Frankly, we are lucky to have this man here in the UK as he could make anywhere he went a better place.

Matt Hicks is a journeyman. Whether you know him as Matt Hicks or under his other stage name as Lester T Web; Matt offers a traditional take on ukulele performance and will be teaching a beginners workshop and performing on the day.

If you wanted an excuse to visit us and  can't get enough of ukuleles before the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain; we've got you covered.

Attendees will be able to make the most of exclusive offers on the day. Please note this event is limited to 30 tickets and will be held in the Cafe at Absolute Music on the ground floor. There will be refreshments on the day available from our Cafelele but some folks may wish to bring a packed lunch.