Article and photos • Wendy Nugent
ab o u t u s m ic Newton Ukulele Tunes Society spreads the joy
W
hen some musicians play, they look extremely happy, with big ol’ smiles on their faces, like they’re doing something they
love. Those same kinds of grins were on the mugs of players in the Newton Ukulele Tunes Society, or NUTS as they like to be called, while they rehearsed with singer Pam Barthell for a fundraiser they had planned to do in June for Peace Connections. “It’s joyful for me,” NUTS member Barrick Wilson of Newton said about playing. “The Hawaiian word for ukulele means jumping flea — if you can imagine playing a jumping flea. For me, there’s hardly any novelty to it, but when we get going on a song, it’s a great feeling.” Wilson has played this “jumping flea” for more than 50 years. “Barrick started playing ukulele the year I was born, and I didn’t start playing until I was 53,” said Marva Weigelt, 56, group founder and leader. “She’s far better than I am,” Wilson said. “And I can ‘amen’ that because she’s in my building,” Barthell said with a smile. The group had rehearsal on an extremely warm day in June at The Carriage Factory Gallery in Newton, surrounded by colorful art
and people who stopped to listen to the lively group that has members ranging in age from 22 to 71. Weigelt played a custom-made uke, while other players had instruments of various sizes. Weigelt’s uke was crowd funded by 50 people. “You can specify every detail of it, and you have to wait a year for it,” she said. “(The) tag inside says ‘love’ because this is a love ukulele.” NUTS started in 2012 after then co-owner of Prairie Harvest, Becky Nickel, asked Weigelt to get “uke” players together to perform Christmas carols and have a carol sing-along
They then started having an open mike on the Third Thursday event in downtown Newton, either at Prairie Harvest or the Carriage Factory Gallery. They’ve also played at Peace Connections. Now, the group has a number of core members, besides Weigelt and Wilson, including J.D. Lee, 27; Danny Barrera, 22; and Ray Nicodemus, 68. “We love music,” Weigelt said. “It’s kinda one of the highlights of my week is playing with you guys.” The musicians have an “interesting practice group,” Weigelt said. “(We are) folks who are a little obsessed with music and can show up every week.” They call their core group Handful of NUTS, while those who show up at a jam session are assimilated into NUTS. “They become NUTS when they show up with a ukulele,” Weigelt said. Uke players ranging in age from 4 through their 80s have jammed with them. The largest number they’ve had at a session is around 10. One girl, who was 8, was watching the group, and someone told her she should’ve brought her ukulele. She said she did, and it was hidden under a table. They tuned her uke, which the girl said she purchased with
“This is the first group where there’s no discipline at all.” at the store in Newton. Weigelt estimated four to six players showed up for the event that took place around Thanksgiving. “I was a newbie and had just started playing the year before,” Weigelt said. “It was pretty ragged for a while.”
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... LEFT: From left, back, Danny Barrera and Marva Weigelt, with Ray Nicodemus, left front, and Barrick Wilson, right front, enjoy themselves on a summer evening at The Carriage Factory Gallery in Newton. HarveyCountyNOW.com | 5