Amanda Palmer surprises ukulele group

The day after entrancing her Auckland audience at the final night of her much-delayed world tour, US punk-cabaret-singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer took part in a much humbler but no less appreciated gig – dropping in unannounced to one of Ockham Collective resident Sonia Wilson's ukulele & singing workshops at our Hypatia creative precinct.

Says Wilson, "Thanks to a chance encounter I had with Amanda's tour manager, Jamie, in Hawke's Bay and Amanda's generous willingness to come and surprise and delight us with her music and stories, our Ockham ukulele group enjoyed a wonderfully inspiring musical visit".

The former Dresden Dolls singer's love of the ukulele is well known. She even has a solo single entitled Ukulele Anthem, which she proceeded to play to the group, along with a selection of her other songs. When her five-year-old son joined them later in the session, Amanda strummed and sung along with the group to kid-friendly classics such as The Rainbow Connection and The Bare Necessities.

"Amanda's Ukulele Anthem was a performance of razor-sharp observation and wit, whilst a homage to the humble but glorious ukulele," says participant Lesley Abell. "What a surprise to have this international artist play for and then play with us."

Strum-buddy Meg Marshall agrees: "Having Amanda at our ukulele class was a moment of pure joy – a wonderful surprise after a rough year for all".
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Sonia moved her ukulele workshops to Hypatia earlier this year after becoming an OC resident. They're now so popular that they're split into three Sunday sessions, each catering to differing abilities. The workshops have given birth to their own ensemble, 4 Strings Sing, who will be performing at the Thames Workingmen's Club this Saturday (details here).

​​If you're interested in joining when workshops resume in the new year, contact Sonia.

[Photo: Amanda Palmer (in yellow, front centre) with Sonia Wilson (blue jacket, to her left) and the ukulele and singing group. Photographer: Noni.]