Returning to his acoustic bluesman roots, Manitoba Hal released HUCKSTER in 2010. It is a solo ukulele recording recorded live off the floor in his 100yr old cottage in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The goal of the recording was to showcase that the ukulele could be a powerful blues instrument without the aid of accompaniment.
Manitoba Hal is an accomplished guitarist, songwriter and ukulele player. He uses a combination of looping technology and other effects to create a one-man-band performance that is truly one-of-a-kind. His takes on traditional blues songs are fresh and inventive combining them with Tin Pan Alley, hit parade, rock and rural country form and style.
Hal began playing ukulele in 1995 after receiving one as a gift from his grandfather. Hal was already an accomplished guitarist and the ukulele provided a missing element to his sound. His blues guitar style transferred easily to ukulele and his unique combination of finger picking and strumming created an instantly accessible sound that complements his gospel tinged vocal style. Early blues performers such as Son House, Robert Johnson and Taj Mahal are among his influences but he is equally shaped by Colin Linden, Ken Hamm, David Essig, Stephen Fearing, Big Dave Mclean and lesser known folk and roots artists.
Manitoba Hal has two international ukulele endorsements (RISA from Germany and aNueNue from Taiwan), has been featured at the New York Ukulele Festival 2008, Ukulele Ceilidh 2005, 2007, 2011, Great Canadian Ukulele Expo 2003, 2004 and the Ukulele Hall of Fame 2001. He has a signature tenor ukulele and is one of a handful of authentic blues performers performing with the ukulele today.
How did Manitoba Hal get his name?
Hal Brolund was playing his brand of acoustic blues in the prairies and was invited to play in Regina at the Mid-Winter Blues festival in 1998. At his performance, MC Jeff Corbett introduced him as "from Manitoba, Hal Brolund". A couple years later Hal was again in Regina and was introduced the same way. It was around this time that Hal started noticing that Manitoba Hal Brolund sounded a little like Mississippi John Hurt and a few other "geographic" blues names. He dropped his Swedish last name because of frequent miss-spellings and Manitoba Hal was born.
The next few years saw Hal touring all over western Canada and into north western Ontario. Invitations to festivals throughout the country followed to international ukulele festivals such as the Ukulele Hall of Fame Expo in 2001. Hal was invited to play at the Ukulele Hall of Fame in New York on Sept 8th, 9th and 10th of that year and arrived home to learn of the tragedy on 9/11.
The ukulele has always led the way for Hal, opening doors to new venues and audiences. This led to his adopting the ukulele full time in 2008. He was invited back to New York for the New York Uke Fest in the spring of 2008 and didn't have a ukulele record out. So a quick few sessions later"Little Box of Sadness" appeared. Little Box of Sadness was the first Manitoba Hal all ukulele record. It has been a very successful release selling almost 2000 units online through world wide digital distribution and live from the stage.
Returning to his acoustic bluesman roots, Manitoba Hal released HUCKSTER in 2010. It is a solo ukulele recording recorded live off the floor in his 100yr old cottage in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The goal of the recording was to showcase that the ukulele could be a powerful blues instrument without the aid of accompaniment.