On the DL

One Nation Under a Uke

by John Vettese

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The ukulele is a pretty ridiculous instrument when you think about it. It has four strings but isn't a bass; it's all miniature and boxy; you can't hear one without picturing plastic hula dancers bouncing around car dashboards. You almost have to feel sorry for musicians like Hawaiian virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro — the Béla Fleck of the uke, if you will — who emphatically attempts to explore the instrument's sonic possibilities and overcome its pesky stigma.

At the same time, it is an undeniably fun instrument. So Shimabukuro, who wowed the Philly Folk Fest last month, makes his sets a mix of goofy noodling and emotive takes on, say, Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria." Or the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — the ridiculous and the resonant. This Saturday, Green Rock Tavern hosts One Nation Under a Uke — which claims to be the city's first all-ukulele festival — providing a similar mix of serious and not so much.

On the latter end, you've got Hot Time Harv (pictured), an androgynous uke performer from New York; Pittsburgh's Uke Skywalker & Tuba Fett, who do cheeky covers of Backstreet Boys and the Velvet Underground; and Philly's Mr. Dead Guy, a "scary horror musical ventriloquist."

But while part of the lineup thrives on silly gimmickry, the rest actually attempts nobly to make music without the shtick. Kenzo's own SnakeOilers, organizers of the shindig, play a gritty uke in an overdriven bluegrass style, while the plaintive Emit Jasper Es does a granddaddy kinda thing with light strums and pretty harmonies.

The night begins with a two-hour open mic, so you can arrive early and show where you fall on the ukulele spectrum.