Massachusetts Ukulele Band Makes Life Better for Sick Kids

My friend Roseanna Camaioni passed away last year, but not before leaving an indelible mark on the SouthCoast region's music scene. Camaioni, a Portuguese American gal, married Ron, an Italian American, and together they ran one of the best damn Irish pubs this side of Dublin.

Camaioni introduced, fostered, sponsored and promoted area musicians and even participated in musical events. About five years before she left us, Camioni founded and organized the Misfits Ukulele Group.

Until then, the only people I'd ever heard of who played the ukulele were Arthur Godfrey and Don Ho, two long-dead, old-time entertainers many of you have never heard of.

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The Misfits Ukulele Group performed at area festivals, fairs and charitable events. They created an uplifting sound that made people happy.

I recently learned of another area ukulele group that regularly performs at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence and Boston Children's Hospital, and just about anywhere else where they can to put a smile on someone's face.

The Plainville, Massachusetts-based ukulele band The Unlikely Strummers formed about eight years ago. The group's website says, "This is definitely not your great-grandfather's ukulele music!"

Cynthia Miller, co-founder and director of The Unlikely Strummers, told Providence's WJAR 10, the group teams with an organization known as the Ukulele Kid's Club, Inc.

"They're a fabulous non-profit that donates ukuleles to chronically ill kids at children's hospitals to help with their overall healing," Miller said. WJAR reported that the Ukulele Kid's Club has donated 16,000 instruments to children's hospitals.

Miller said The Unlikely Strummers play an average of "85 to 90 gigs a year." That's a lot of strumming.

The Unlikely Strummers have received considerable positive attention for their charitable work, including a story on WCVB-TV Boston's Chronicle program.