Brad Bordessa is out of place and out of time. When sharing Hawaiian style ʻukulele dicipline in a fast-paced, AI world, just holding your line is an act of rebelion.
A haole boy raised in music by the Kahumoku ʻOhana school of hard knocks, Brad savors the journey in all of its messiness. Forgot the song onstage? That happens sometimes. Business ripped you off? That happens too. Smiled at by the waitress because you played a song she remembers her mother dancing hula to? That’s why you show up and put in the work.
Hone the craft he has. For the past 20 years Brad has been studying, performing, and teaching alongside many forefront Hawaiian musicians.
An honors graduate of the University of Hawai‘i Maui Collage Institute of Hawaiian Music program, Brad has performed onstage with HAPA, Ledward Kaapana, the late Martin Pahinui, Sonny Lim, Jeff Peterson, Kevin Brown, Hawane Rios, Buckman Coe, and others.
Brad has been featured as a solo artist at the Slack Key Show, the Waikoloa ‘Ukulele Festival, the Kalama Heritage Festival, and Seattle’s Northwest Folklife Festival. He’s taught workshops in Hawai‘i and internationally alongside Herb Ohta, Jr., James Hill, Gerald Ross, Kevin Carroll, and others as a staff instructor for George Kahumoku, Jr.’s Slack Key and ʻUkulele Workshop and the Hawai‘i Island ‘Ukulele Retreat.
Brad is the author of seven books and five video courses that teach the concepts behind playing ʻukulele. His website, Live ‘Ukulele, is one of the web’s largest ‘ukulele learning resources. It’s been viewed almost 25 million times.
Along with performing and teaching, Brad writes and records original music. His latest release is a tounge-in-cheek single called “Eat You” about the lack of policy support for agriculture in Hawaiʻi.