Phil Doleman

Phil Doleman

Phil Doleman is a UK musician whose work centres on blues, hokum, jug band music and jazz, played mainly on ukulele, with additional guitar and lap steel. He is associated with the ukulele’s “third wave” and is known for intricate picking and strong rhythmic playing.

Career

He performs across the UK and also leads workshops at festivals, theatres, clubs and other events. He appears on BBC radio and television, and has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and German NDR TV. He is a contributor to Ukulele Rhythms magazine and endorses Aquila strings.

Recordings and collaborations

Doleman appears on several albums. He records as a solo artist, in a duo with Ian Emmerson, and as part of the rock ukulele duo The Re-entrants, with whom he appears on five albums. He also performs as a member of the novelty act 4-4-2.

Live work

He has played at a wide range of UK festivals and venues, including The London Uke Fest, The Ukulele Festival of Great Britain, A Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, The Acoustic Festival of Britain, Bearded Theory Festival, 80s Rewind Festival and Off The Tracks Festival. His theatre and club appearances include venues in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as Blackpool Grand Theatre, King George’s Hall in Blackburn, Theater im Stall Neu Horst in Germany, Derby Assembly Rooms, The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster and Parr Hall in Warrington.

Style

His playing combines a small-voiced ukulele sound with a large singing voice, and his repertoire draws on early jazz and related acoustic styles.