New Mexico’s only ukulele festival, the Las Cruces UkeFest, will be held May 16 – 18, 2025. This popular festival is for novice to advanced ukulele players who want to enjoy a weekend jamming and learning new skills with fellow lovers of the four-stringed instrument. The festival is hosted by the Las Cruces Ukes, a nonprofit community group of ukulele enthusiasts who have practiced and performed together for more than a dozen years.
Festival Basics
The festival begins Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. with a concert at the NMSU Atkinson Recital Hall. The concert is included in festival registration. Tickets are only $10 for those who simply want to enjoy a fantastic evening of ukulele music performed by ukulele professionals Casey MacGill, Rachel Manke, Abby Lyons, and Devin Scott. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with a paying adult, and concert tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
The festival continues Saturday and Sunday at the NMSU Corbett Center Student Union, with workshops for all levels of players taught by those same talented musicians. It also includes a jam session, open mic, catered lunch on Saturday, and a ukulele marketplace.
Meet the Instructors
Casey MacGill has a long career, beginning with busking in Southern California in the 1960s. Since then, he has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the Gong Show, and in the movie Frances with Jessica Lange. He played the ukulele to open the Broadway musical Swing! With his trio, Mood Indigo, he has even inspired Fred Astaire to break into dance.
Rachel Manke has been playing the ukulele since the late 1990s and performed on A Prairie Home Companion. She studied with Joel Eckhaus, a student of the famed Roy Smeck. She loves Tin Pan Alley songs and other old-time music.
Abby Lyons is coming to Las Cruces UkeFest for the first time, adding to the long list of festivals where she has performed and taught. You can hear her singing on Life on Our Planet with Morgan Freeman on Netflix and The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime. She teaches ukulele, songwriting, and piano at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.
Devin Scott is the director of the Rocky Mountain UkeFest. He performs everything from old-time classics to pop and has turned his passion for the ukulele into the opportunity to live his best life traveling the country teaching workshops, leading jam sessions, and performing.
Workshops at Las Cruces UkeFest
Each instructor will teach four workshops over the weekend. MacGill’s offerings include workshops on strumming patterns, songs by Slim Gaillard, and favorite Beatles tunes. Manke will teach workshops on the I IV V song structure, songs of Roy Smeck, and developing a stage plan. Lyons is teaching the beginner track with everything from Ukulele 101 to songwriting. Scott, who will lead the jam session, has workshops on picking, soloing, and “stage presents.”
Register in Advance
The full festival, including catered lunch, the concert, and all the workshops you can fit into your weekend, is $225. A special rate is available for full-time students. Advance registration is required for the full festival, but concert tickets will be available at the door.
Learn more about the festival and register at lascrucesukefest.com.
Keywords
Las Cruces UkeFest