Ukastle Ukestra at the Nash 2027

Fantastic!!! The Ukastle Ukestra has again got into the National Folk Festival (affectionately known as ‘The Nash’) to be e a part of the most vibrant folk festival in Australia: without the mud or heat of Woodford, or the irredeeming cold of Bass Straited Port Fairy.

It’s at Easter in Canberra – 25-29 March 2027. Can you join us?

You get a very reduced price (perhaps free, we don’t know yet) performers and camping ticket if you are a part of the Ukastle Ukestra; ordinarily, tickets for attending and camping at the Nash are in the order of $600. You, as a performer, do not pay this, and we will be a key part of the Nash’s welcoming and joyous street vibe.

To express your interest in joining the Ukastle Ukestra, please fill in the form below. These people have already expressed interest, and at the moment do not need to fill in the form again.

You need to read and understand what your obligations are in order to be a part of the Ukastle Ukestra and the joy that is the National Folk Festival.

Selection Criteria for a reduced price ticket with the Ukestra

1. How much have you attended ukestra in the last 6 months.
2. You’ll need to attend ukestras with John Wallace absolutely regularly
3. We’ll be having rehearsals and there will be a registration fee payable to Mark and Jane for this.
4. You have to commit to ‘working’ (aka performing/participating) for your ticket. You are obliged to do ‘most’ of it, with some activities more vital than others.
5. The street performances as the Ukastle Ukestra are mandatory (give or take exceptional circumstances).

Reiterating Obligation #1 – attend at least 5 months solid of ukestras, and to be a regular attendee before October 2026. If you are new, that’s ok, but we really don’t like being swamped with people who swan in for the performances, and then swan out and aren’t really part of the community. If you are a recent joiner, then talk to us and John.

This time around is also different as Mark and Jane handed over the Newcastle Ukestras (and the ‘Ukastle Ukestra’) to John Wallace on 1 October 2026. The 2027 appearances at the Nash will be delivered in close collaboration with John, but is lead by Mark and Jane (who successfully applied on behalf of the Ukastle Ukestra, and who are well known by the Festival management). We are sooooo keen to let the world know that John is the future of ukulele and ukestra.

Our roles at the 2027 National Folk Festival

We’ll be busy, with 2 main jobs, plus another opportunity of which we may be a part.

1. Each day we are participating in ‘Festival Ukes‘. It’d be great to have most of you there at 9:30am each day, for an hour. Essentially it will be like a morning strumalong, or like a normal ukestra session, lead by Mark, Jane and John. This session is open to any ukers at the Festival, of which there should be many.
2. Your main daily obligation will be to be a part of our performance troupe in the street. We will have a half hour slot on Friday and Saturday, where we will be a key part of the vibrancy of the Festival.
3. I have entered us in the Infinite Song Contest – Rolling Stones. The song we wish to do is Miss You. This is an enormously fun opportunity. We’ll do it in conjunction with Ukestral Voices.

Draft Timetable

Street Performance
Thu 25 Mar 2027 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Venue: Fitzroy Gate
Outdoor area (asphalt) near the Fitzroy Gate, Adjacent to Sam’s Caravan.

Festival Ukes
Fri 26 Mar 2027
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Venue: Daintree

Infinite Song Contest Heat 1
Fri 26 Mar 2027
12:00 PM to 1:20 PM
Venue: Marquee

Festival Ukes
Sat 27 Mar 2027
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Venue: Daintree

Street Performance
Sat 27 Mar 2027
1:00 PM to 1:20 PM
Venue: Fitzroy Gate,
Outdoor area (asphalt) near the Fitzroy Gate, Adjacent to Sam’s Caravan.

Festival Ukes
Sun 28 Mar 2027
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Venue: Daintree

Street Performance
Sun 28 Mar 2027
6:00 PM to 6:20 PM
Venue: Coorong Forecourt, Outdoor area (asphalt) near the Piazza stage

Festival Ukes
Mon 29 Mar 2027
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Venue: Daintree

Festival Parade
Mon 29 Mar 2027
4:50 PM to 5:10 PM
Venue: Roaming, Various locations around the Festival
Meeting point before the Parade begins is in front of Piazza at 4:30 pm.
At 4:50PM on Monday there will be a quiet pause as all of the venues take a moment of rest. Suddenly, cacophonous noise and celebration will emerge from all corners, as the Festival Parade takes over! Join the procession as it passes you by, or pre-plan with a range of opportunities and workshops for anyone to get involved.

A different way of summarising it

•  Four Festival Ukes Sessions – 9:30-10:30am each day (Friday to Monday) in the Daintree.
• Three 20-30 minute Ukastle Ukestra Street performances
  • Friday 18th April – midday outside the Quokka (near the Flute and Fiddle)
  • Saturday 19th April – 5:30-6pm at the Flemington Gate
• Be a part of the Festival Parade Monday – 4:50-5:10pm.
• Finally, we have been invited to participate in the Infinite Song Competition. The Ukestra and Ukestral Voices won it in 2025. Here’s the video of our performance. We don’t yet know the theme.

The admin and rehearsal fee from us is $60. Fill in this form to express your interest and be kept up to date.

Here’s the list of people who have registered their interest thus far. We are yet to finalise numbers and names.