The Unlikely Strummers have an unlikely Christmas concert
Deb Sorgman and Jen Wallance laugh as Jonathan Keller, dressed as the Grinch, entertains the crowd. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The Unlikely Strummers perform. 
Isaiah Manely dances with his daughter Amelia.
Deb Sorgman and Jen Wallance sing.
Lincoln Manely peeks at the Grinch from behind the cookie table. 
Barbara Rose and Jonathan Keller perform a duet.
Some of the cookies available after the concert.
Deb Sorgman and Jen Wallance laugh as Jonathan Keller, dressed as the Grinch, entertains the crowd. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The Unlikely Strummers perform.
Isaiah Manely dances with his daughter Amelia.
Deb Sorgman and Jen Wallance sing.
Lincoln Manely peeks at the Grinch from behind the cookie table.
Barbara Rose and Jonathan Keller perform a duet.
Some of the cookies available after the concert.
The Unlikely Strummers held a Christmas concert so good even the Grinch showed up. On Tuesday, Dec. 2 the band performed at the Dartmouth Grange.
During the concert, they played a number of classics and lesser known Christmas songs. These included “Jingle Bells,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Holiday Road,” a Christmas take on “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and ended with “12 Days of Christmas.”
They also performed the classic “Mele Kalikimake,” which Cindy Miller, director and founder of the band, describes as the one everyone asks for when they learn someone plays the ukulele.
The Unlikely Strummers is a ukulele band that has been playing on the South Coast for nine years, typically around 100 times a year. The members are not professional musicians, but rather people who decided to start learning later in life.
“It’s such a great group of people,” said Miller. “Everybody gets together and they do their best all the time and they keep coming out, and we have a ton of fun together, and it’s like a huge ukulele family.”
During the concert, people sang along and danced. The band all joked around together between songs, but especially during the quick microphone changes in “12 Days of Christmas.” One of the band members, Jonathan Keller, made an appearance as the Grinch. All of the members were dressed up in Christmas decor and Christmas sweaters.
The Manely family attended with their two kids, Amelia and Lincoln. Their mother, Lindsey, guesses their favorite songs were “Feliz Navidad” and “Rudolph” and their favorite parts were the Grinch and the cookies afterwards.
“This is like a real hometown Christmas concert, so we look forward to this a lot,” said Miller. “Everybody’s warm and welcoming and there’s this huge sense of community.”
