Ukulele Sessions: Ragtime and Blues with Del Rey & Steve James

During a recent swing through Northern California, noted blues, jug band, and ragtime ukulele player Del Rey stopped by our studio for a Ukulele Sessions Presents performance.

Together with guitarist Steve James, who accompanied her on two songs, Del shared stories of fighting festival organizers to use her beloved ukulele and fingerpicked four songs: Sidney Bechet’s “Blackstick,” “Rocking Chair Blues” by Rabbit Muse, “Everybody Rag with Me” by Gus Kahn, and “Tired Chicken” from Gus Cannon.

When performing, Del prefers to use just one mic (so much so that she even has a website dedicated to convincing you to do the same, onemicstand.com). In this clip, both Del and Steve are playing instruments made by Ron Phillips, a luthier in Northern California who specializes in metal-bodied guitars and ukuleles.