March 16, 2026
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returns to Penn State April 9 to celebrate 40 plucking years
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will bring its powerful positive mental attitude and bonsai guitars to a concert of hits from all over the musical spectrum.
Credit: Photo providedUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Monday, March 16, 2026) — A decade after its previous appearance, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will return to Penn State with its Fortieth Anniversary Tour. Now officially middle-aged, the cheeky ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Tickets are $56 for an adult, $14 for a University Park student, and $19 for a person 18 and younger and are available for purchase online. Avoid the $4 fee by purchasing over the phone at 814-863-0255 or in person, weekdays 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at Eisenhower Auditorium. The Center for the Performing Arts and the Arts Ticket Center are parts of the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture.
The feelgood jam band will bring its powerful positive mental attitude and bonsai guitars to a concert of hits from all over the musical spectrum.
Visit Ukulele Orchestra online for more information and to purchase tickets.
Middle-aged and merry
The singing, strumming ukulele orchestra celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a tour of classic rock and sing-along music hits.
The ensemble’s wide discography includes versions of Broadway showtunes, TV theme songs, and top-40 hits by Lady Gaga, The Cure, ZZ Top, Nirvana, Paul Simon and more. A setlist will venture the musical map with adventurous renditions of favorites from the folk, jazz, disco, punk and classical genres.
“A concert by the Ukulele Orchestra is a funny, virtuosic, twanging, awesome, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll and melodious light entertainment, featuring only the ‘bonsai guitar’ and a menagerie of voices in a collision of post-punk performance and toe-tapping oldies,” said a writer for JournalofMusic.com.
For fans of
Feel-good ukulele jams
Wry, cheeky humor
Music-based entertainment
Classic rock karaoke
Acknowledgments
Support is provided by the Glenn and Nancy Gamble Endowment.
Accessibility services are supported by Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment.
A grant from the University Park Fee Board makes Penn State student prices possible.
Find us
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture, aspires to create connected, sustainable, and equitable communities, where everyone experiences joy, belonging and creativity.
For more information about the season, visit the Center for the Performing Arts online, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.