UkeFest in Astoria

Francis Doo

​Born and raised on the island of Oʻahu, Francis Doo brings the spirit of aloha to every performance. With over 30 years of experience in the Oregon and Washington music scene, he shares a blend of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music along with original compositions. His deep connection to Hawaiian culture extends beyond music, as he also has a background in hula, which enriches his performances with authenticity and heart.

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Workshops: Intro to Hawaiian Style Ukulele, Expanding Your Repertoire of Strum Patterns, and Chords up the Neck

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​​​​​​​Avery Hill

​Avery Hill has been performing and teaching music since 2013 and is a staple instructor of the Portland,OR ukulele community. She has run her own studio of ukulele classes and workshops and is a regular instructor at the Menucha Ukulele Band Camp. More recently, she has maintained a YouTube channel for ukulele tutorials and has begun teaching songwriting, including at the Songwriter Soireé Retreat. Whatever the classroom, Avery strives to educate everyone’s inner musician, to elevate their self-knowledge and confidence, and to enchant them with insight, presence, and a handful of good jokes. Her latest performance album is The One Who Remembers (2024), and she looks forward to releasing a record of all-ukulele music in 2026. Learn more at www.averyhill.studio.

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Workshops: How to Sing and Play, Music Theory, Blues Songs

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​​​​​​​Aaron Keim

Aaron Keim is one half of the husband and wife duo The Quiet American. In Hood River, OR, he and his wife, Nicole, lead an artistic life: making music, building musical instruments, teaching music, writing books, crafting folk art, and raising their 10-year-old son Henry. Influenced by Depression-era string band music and the folk revival, they use ukulele, banjo, and accordion to accompany their old-time tunes, harmony singing, and audience sing-alongs. The duo has published several ukulele and banjo instructional books, using Nicole’s handwritten notation and Aaron’s YouTube videos to help folks learn at home.

Aaron is also a luthier who builds ukuleles and banjos as Beansprout Musical Instruments. With his wife, he is the co-artistic director for Menucha Ukulele Band Camp in Corbett, OR and the Port Townsend Ukulele Festival in Port Townsend, WA. Learn more at www.quietamericanmusic.com and www.thebeansprout.com.

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Workshops: 1960s Folk Song Hootenanny, Fingerstyle from Scratch,  and Early Ukulele History and the First Builders