The Las Cruces UkeFest 2025 is set for May 16 to 18, offering a fun weekend of ukulele music and culture in southern New Mexico. The festival will feature a variety of workshops, jam sessions and a concert.
According to the Las Cruces UkeFest website, The Las Cruces UkeFest is organized by the Las Cruces Ukes, a nonprofit community group of ukulele enthusiasts based in southern New Mexico. Founded in 2013, the club has since performed more than 100 times throughout the community and hosted numerous workshops.
The first full-scale Las Cruces UkeFest in 2017 received great reviews and a sold-out concert. The following year, the concert moved to a larger venue, attracting more than 300 ukulele enthusiasts. While the 2020 festival was postponed because of COVID-19, virtual events were held in 2020 and 2021. The fifth festival in 2022 featured many talented New Mexico-based instructors, and the 2024 event showcased even more top performers.
The festival will be led by Casey MacGill, Rachel Manke, Abby Lyons and Devin Scott. Casey MacGill, a ukulele player and vocalist, is known for his swing music and vintage strums. Starting in the 1960s folk scene, he gained early recognition performing near the UCLA campus and later appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” “The Gong Show,” and in the film “Frances.” As leader of the trio Mood Indigo, MacGill collaborated with Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell.
MacGill’s influence extends to Broadway, where he helped open the Broadway musical, “Swing” with a striking ukulele performance. Featured on the cover of Ukulele Magazine in 2018, he remains an influential figure in the ukulele community.
Rachel Manke, with 25 years of ukulele experience, blends vaudeville-inspired style with diverse genres, from Tin Pan Alley to old-time music. She has performed at events like the New Jersey Uke Fest, Strummin' Man, and A Prairie Home Companion. Starting in the late 1990s, she studied under Joel Eckhaus, a student of Roy Smeck. Now Manke leads workshops at camps like the California Coast Music Camp and Port Townsend Uke Fest, and will return to the 2025 Las Cruces UkeFest.
Abby Lyons is a singer-songwriter with more than 75,000 YouTube subscribers, where she shares original songs, covers, and tutorials. Lyons has performed at festivals like the Los Angeles International Ukulele Festival and Wonderfront Festival and teaches ukulele, songwriting, and piano at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. She also records vocals for Grammy-winning composer Lorne Balfe, with her singing featured in “Life On Our Planet” on Netflix and “The Wheel of Time” on Amazon Prime. Additionally, she wrote the lyrics for “Candlesticks and Caravans” on Pennyworth.
Devin Scott caught the Las Cruces Ukes board's attention a decade ago at the Rocky Mountain UkeFest in Durango with a lively jam session. Now running the festival, he's making time to bring his talents to southern New Mexico. Devin entertains audiences of all ages with everything from old-time classics to pop hits.
Scheduled to take place at New Mexico State University’s Atkinson Recital Hall and Corbett Center, the festival kicks off on Friday evening, May 16, with a concert. Workshops and open mic sessions will be held on Saturday and Sunday, providing opportunities for participants to learn, play, and interact with other ukulele players.
Registration for the event is now open. Early bird registration, which includes a discount and 20 free tickets for the festival prize drawing, is available through February 20. Early bird rates are $195 for the full festival, while regular registration is $225, and student registration is $125.
The festival offers a variety of ticket options, including a $10 concert ticket for those who wish to attend the Friday night performance only.
For more information and to register, visit https://lascrucesukefest.com/
