Ukuleles and backpacking adventures, what could be more inviting? My name is Ben and I travel with my blog Ukulele Road Trips, sharing and singing about the world. This past year, I decided to get my backpack and my ukuleles #GoingNorth. The idea was to pick the coldest places possible and to bring the sunshine of the ukes there.
It all started with the invitation from the Québec ukulele festival to come and perform, and this invitation transformed itself into a whole frozen trip of happy melodies, passing through Toronto, Québec (French-speaking Canada) and Iceland!
One particular video sums up the spirit of the adventure, a song of course filmed outdoors, where it was so cold, it was impossible to play without huge gloves. Hence this composition, on the frosty banks of Rimouski, Québec, Canada:
As you can see, there’s no weather that creates joy. We sort of have to grab smiles by the scruff of the neck wherever we are. Even when #GoingNorth through storms and snow.
The new songs from the adventure are being shared on ukuleleroadtrips.com. There are also additional posts about the local culture and podcasts recorded with young (or young at heart) locals. So, many angles to discover new cultures from.
In many ways, the present trip and the whole idea of the blog is really a testimony to the qualities of the tiny stringed instrument we all enjoy: the ukulele. For all its players, and for myself through Eastern Europe in 2015 and in the snow of Québec lately, it has uplifting qualities. Qualities that bring a smile to all that cross our path when we travel with one and the people I kept in touch with.
And so I’ll leave you with the “theme-song” of the trip, that addresses all about the ongoing trip, “Going North”!
This is a guest post written by Ben, who shares his wonderful ukulele adventures on his blog www.UkuleleRoadTrips.com.
Follow him for more details:
Ukulele Road Trips on Facebook
Ukulele Road Trips on Youtube