Jake Shimabukuro | KNKX Studio Session

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro brought his “Christmas in Hawaii“ show to the Northwest this month with concerts in Olympia, Seattle and Mt. Vernon. He also performed a pre-show session for KNKX at the Moore Theatre and talked about celebrating the winter holidays in an island paradise. Shimabukuro’s latest album, Jake & Friends includes a variety of musicians including Bette Midler, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Sonny Landreth and long-time friend and booster Jimmy Buffett. In fact, Shimabukuro told a great story about a surprise visit from Buffett at a Seattle concert where the “Margaritaville“ star ended up selling shirts and CDs after the show. Shimabukuro was joined by bassist Jackson Waldhoff on the Moore Theatre stage in downtown Seattle. With Waldhoff in steady support, this special concert began with Shimabukuro’s fiery rendition of “We Three Kings“ with a hint of the Beatles. Then he really let his classic rock influence take over.