Jake Shimabukuro & Deana Carter

Consider the humble ukulele. It’s an adaptation of a stringed instrument that traveled with Portuguese immigrants who came to work in the sugar cane fields of Hawaii. Islanders made the “machete” their own, mixing external influences of classical European music and Spanish guitar with Hawaiian songs. Native Hawaiians renamed the little machete the ukulele and it’s become synonymous with Hawaiian music and Hawaiian culture.

Jake Shimabukuro comes from that same process of mixing both island and outside influences, both modern and historical. He’s combined the qualities of a long line of virtuoso ukulele players with modern rock musicians to create a sound that’s uniquely his own but still firmly grounded in Hawaiian tradition.
Growing up in Hawaii, Jake’s influences include legendary ukulele players like Eddie Kamae, Ohta-San and Peter Moon. Jake also credits icons like Bruce Lee and Michael Jordan as a source of inspiration.

Known for his energetic strumming on the ukulele, Jake’s performance incorporates elements of thoughtful, sophisticated arrangements to spontaneous, improvised passages. In addition to his original compositions, his repertoire includes Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Schubert’s Ave Maria and Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jake’s life has always centered on the ukulele. He started playing at the age of four, urged by his mother who also played.

Jake began his music career in the mid-90’s, performing at local coffee shops as a sideman with his first band, Pure Heart. But Jake’s solo career began in 2002 when he signed with Epic Records, becoming the first ukulele player to sign with Sony Music. While his well-received solo releases positioned Jake as an established musician in Hawaii and Japan, his career skyrocketed when a cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” went viral on YouTube with more than 13 million views, opening the rest of the world’s eyes to Jake and his unique playing style.

In the years since the YouTube clip aired, Jake has collaborated with an array of artists that include Yo-Yo Ma, Jimmy Buffett, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Dave Koz, Michael McDonald, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Tommy Emmanuel, and Lyle Lovett – as well as orchestras around the world. He’s sold out world-class venues, played at Bonnaroo, SXSW, the Playboy Jazz Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, the influential TED conference, and even performed for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England.

He has topped Billboard’s World Music Chart numerous times, been declared a musical “hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine, which also stated: “one of the hottest axemen of the past few years doesn’t actually play guitar.” He has also won accolades from the disparate likes of Eddie Vedder who states: “Jake is taking the instrument to a place that I can’t see anybody else catching up with;” been talked about by Perez Hilton and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, wowed audiences on national TV with appearances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “Good Morning America,” and “The Today Show,” and along the way has earned comparisons to musical innovators such as Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. Jake has been the subject of an award winning documentary “Jake Shimabukuro: Life On Four Strings,” currently on Netflix.

Jake also travels to schools around the world and spreads positive messages to young people, encouraging them to find their passion and live drug-free.

Although he is constantly touring, playing 140 shows a year, Jake and his family continue to make Hawaii their home.

Drenched in sun-kissed natural beauty both inside and out, Nashville native, Deana Carter, didn’t take a seemingly easy route to stardom, but instead chose to defy the conventional expectations of the typical Nashville artist blueprint and make her own mark. And she did, undeniably taking the industry and fans by storm with her wildly successful multi-platinum international debut “Did I Shave My Legs For This?” more two decades ago. Anchored by the dreamy super hit ” Strawberry Wine”, Carter showcased her own blend of country and retro rock sprinkled with the folksy singer/songwriter qualities that have garnered Deana Carter well deserved respect and wild acclaim.

With EIGHT albums under her belt, Carter explores many subjects commonly shared over a quaint dinner, afternoon coffee or a sunny day hike with a good friend.

Her last release of Southern Way of Life was her first dive as Label CEO on her own Little Nugget Records, distributed by Sony/Red. These songs weave through the sometimes rocky terrain of adulthood, including loss of love, relationships on many different levels, trials, tribulations and simply put – life. As always, Instinctively autobiographical, the subject matter mimics the interesting ride of Carter’s own life – so far.

The daughter of famed studio guitarist and producer Fred Carter, Jr., Deana grew up exposed to the wide variety of musicians her father worked with, including Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Simon & Garfunkel, Muddy Waters, Dolly Parton, and many more. Their strong influence would eventually seep into Deana’s own country-pop style, which reflects qualities that can also be heard in similar artists now, such as Miranda Lambert and reflective of artists like Sheryl Crow.

Developing her songwriting skills by trial and error at writer’s nights throughout Nashville, Carter eventually signed a writing deal with Polygram and soon after a record deal with Capitol Records. One of her demo tapes happened to fall into the hands of none other than Willie Nelson, who remembered Deana as a child. Impressed with how she’d grown as a songwriter, Nelson asked Deana to perform along with John Mellencamp, Kris Kristofferson and Neil Young as the only female solo artist to appear at Farm Aid VII in 1994.

Her debut album, “Did I Shave My Legs For This?” boasts six songs co-written and with the album co-produced by Carter, was released to strong reviews in late summer 1996. By the end of the year, the record had climbed to the top of both the country and pop charts, quickly achieving multi-platinum status, with 3 number one singles in a row. A “first” for the genre, Deana’s celebrated debut album held this distinction and many ground breaking achievements for more than 5 years and has become one of Country Music’s most treasured classics of the 90’s.

“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” followed in late 1998 and in 2001 Carter realized her dream of performing with her dad on an intimate holiday album, aptly titled “Father Christmas.” Making a strong move towards adult pop Carter released “I’m Just a Girl” on Arista Records in 2003, the same year Capitol Records released a Greatest Hits compilation. Follow-ups “The Story of My Life” in 2005 and “The Chain” in 2007 were both released on Vanguard Records. In an effort to pay homage to her musical roots and preserve her legendary father’s label Nugget Records, that famously presented some of the best in country music some 40 years ago, Carter opened her own label, Little Nugget Records, on which her latest album “Southern Way of Life” was released.

Carter now divides her time between Los Angeles, Florida and Nashville, writing and producing for both the pop/rock and country markets when not on the road touring or making movies.

Her superstar success continues to be evident as the chart topper “You & Tequila”, co-written  with Matraca Berg and recorded by Kenny Chesney, was nominated as CMA’s “Song of the Year”, as well as two Grammy nods, notable the coveted “Song of the Year” , and, also, received a nomination as ACM’s “Song of the Year”. You and Tequila received a coveted ‘Songs I Wished I’d Written’ by the NSAI in Nashville, something Deana treasures, coming from her hometown music community.

Carter also co-wrote and produced an album for recording artist Audra Mae & the Almighty Sound, while putting the finishing touches on her own “Southern Way of Life.”

She has recently held a Governor’s seat on the Grammy Board for the Recording Academy and served on the Producer’s & Engineer’s Wing, The Membership Committee, & held an active voice for Artists & Creators with Advocacy in Washington, D. C. & throughout the last year for Pandemic Relief.

Singer, songwriter, producer – Deana Carter continues to defy conventional expectations, making waves as she makes great music, tours, & makes movies.