Mighty Uke Day has been blessed to work with many generous sponsors and supporters over the past thirteen years. We couldn’t do it without them, please support them with your patronage and thanks.

Elderly Instruments: Main Stage Sponsor
From their humble beginnings over 50 years ago in an Ann Arbor attic to becoming one of the most renowned acoustic instrument retailers in the world; Lansing’s Elderly Instruments has now been recognized by the US Chamber of Commerce as “America’s Top Small Business”. Founded by Stan Werbin and Sharon McInturff and now co-owned and run by Stan’s daughter Lillian Werbin, Elderly is well-positioned to provide many more decades of service to the acoustic music community and support to local endeavors such as Mighty Uke Day and Music is the Foundation (thank you so much!). Check out their wide variety of ukuleles in person while you’re in town or see them all online at http://elderly.com

Dave’s Ukes: Community Stage Sponsor
Dave Birney and Dave’s Ukes have been a huge supporter of Mighty Uke Day and Music is the Foundation for many years. After retiring from a long career in the building trades, he became involved with the Lansing Area Ukulele Group (LAUGH) and was inspired to begin building ukuleles. Find out more about Dave and his ukes and show him some ukulele love!

The Old Town General Store The Old Town General Store is an enthusiastic supporter of Mighty Uke Day and the local music scene. OTGS offers the warmth of a traditional general store with a progressive approach to foods and customer care and an emphasis on Michigan-themed and produced products whenever possible. They are “Michigan-Proud” and carry products from the southern edge of our state to the Upper Peninsula. Their specialty is Michigan-themed gift baskets, which can be ordered online or in the store for pickup, local delivery, or shipping.

Gregg Hill and Lois Mummaw
The dynamic duo of Gregg and Lois are known across the Lansing Area and beyond as loyal supporters of Michigan Music. Gregg is an acclaimed jazz composer, pianist, and producer with recordings of his work by Randy Napoleon, Elden Kelly, Rodney Whittaker, and others. Gregg and Lois are the founders of Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan (JAMM), which is a non-profit dedicated to preserving and promoting live jazz in Mid-Michigan. Lois is a Shaklee Independent Distributors and donates a variety of their products to Mighty Uke Day so our artists have the health and energy they need to teach and perform. Lois’ late father Bill was a beloved ukulele student of Ben’s and would sometimes sit in with Ben’s Prime Time Strummers group at their shows over the holidays. 

Jack Nolish and the Michigan Capital Ukulele Players (MiCUP)
Jack is a long-time member of East Lansing’s PT Strummers and the founder of MiCUP, a ukulele group that hosts monthly strums in a clever “Zoom & Room” hybrid format; combining in-person players with other players from around North America and beyond via streaming. 

UrbanBeat Event Space
Old Town’s UrbanBeat is a restaurant, event space, and nightclub where you can create timeless memories. They are Lansing’s premier customizable event space and are dedicated to making your experience special and unforgettable. Their event calendar features a wide range of entertainment of jazz, rock, funk, folk, classical music, and more. UrbanBeat has generously donated their space for our Mighty Uke Day FUNdraiser to help support Music is the Foundation and Mighty Uke Day.

Ten Pound Fiddle Concert & Dance Series
The Ten Pound Fiddle has brought the best of music and dance to Mid-Michigan since 1975; hosting an inclusive variety of some of the finest folk and roots music from around the world. 

Choose Lansing
The vision of Choose Lansing is to inspire everyone to celebrate and love Greater Lansing as much as we do here at Mighty Uke Day! Whether you’re traveling for a sports tournament, professional conference or to visit our many attractions, we want your time in the Lansing Area to be successful, memorable and, of course, just plain fun.

Michigan State University Community Music School
The Michigan State University Community Music School (CMS) is the outreach arm of the MSU College of Music. Its mission is to provide a creative and welcoming environment where music experiences, education, and therapy services inspire individuals at all ability levels and stages of life to achieve their personal best. Founded on the belief that music dramatically enhances the quality of life, CMS offers opportunities for the study, appreciation and therapeutic use of music while nurturing the musical development of all. Big thanks to CMS for letting us use their space for our Sunday Acoustic Afterglow concert.

The Linda Hess Memorial Fund: “Sing Your Way Home”
Linda Hess was an important member of the Lansing Area ukulele community as one of the East Lansing Senior Center’s Prime Time Strummers and in other informal ukulele groups in the community. She was kind, encouraging, and helpful to new students; helping them navigate through chord changes and other challenges playing the instrument. She touched many more people across the ukulele community than she could possibly know.

Linda passed away on September 5, 2022 after a six-week battle with an aggressive form of cancer, just weeks after performing with the PT Strummers at Mighty Uke Day 12. She left behind her loving husband Hugh and daughters Melissa and Meredith, their husbands Tim and Trevor, and four grandchildren, Alexander, Nicholas, Nina and Matthew, as well as many grateful ukulele friends.

Hugh Hess asked that Music is the Foundation establish a memorial fund in Linda’s honor to further spread the joy she found through the ukulele through funding of programs in the area. Funds collected are being used to purchase instruments, songbooks, scholarships, and instruction for a variety of ukulele educational experiences, including new senior programs in Bath and Williamston.