Members of Wet Leg, Ezra Collective and Weezer are set to star in a new CBeebies show called Yukee.
Set in Northern Ireland, the show is set to be a brand new series with music at its core – created by musicians and designed for the musicians of the future.
Set to launch next Monday (February 5) on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, the premise of the new series is about the joy that comes from making music with friends, and reaffirming the message that ‘music is for everyone’.
“As well as having themes of community, friendship, and cooperation at its heart, Yukee offers young audiences a gentle, child-centred introduction to music education and exposes them to simple, yet fundamental musical concepts that will form a strong foundation for lifelong learning and enjoyment of music – beat, rhythm, pitch, tempo, timbre, form, dynamics, expression and style,” reads a description of the show.
Lead character, Yukee, is of Northern Irish and Chinese heritage and takes her beloved red ukulele into a magical garden filled with instrument-playing animal friends in each episode. Each episode she makes music with some of her animal friends – each of which is played by a special guest.
These include Wet Leg – who appear as a travelling troupe of snails called The Slime Sisters and explain that the most important instrument of all is your voice – and Mercury Prize-winners Ezra Collective, who are cast as travelling jazz musicians in an episode about taking inspiration from the most unexpected of places.
In other episodes, Maisie Peters plays a mouse that’s become lost in the garden and needs a musical map to find her way home, and Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) takes on the role of a musician pigeon called Feathers, who crash lands into the garden and needs the right beat so he can learn to flap his wings again.
Other famous faces taking part in the children’s series include P.P. Arnold, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) and Sam Carter of Architects. Lauren Laverne also stars, playing a reporter called Roxie Rabbit from Sticks Music station.
“Fusing entertainment and education for preschool children across the UK is a key part of our strategy – and there is no better way to do this than through having fun with music,” said Kate Morton, Senior Head of Commissioning for BBC Children’s 0-6.
“Yukee’s world isn’t just about music, it’s also about friendships and connecting with the natural world around her giving a strong foundation for lifelong learning and enjoyment. We’re thrilled to have such amazing musical talent on board and to be collaborating with a brilliant production team in Northern Ireland on this project.”
In other Wet Leg news, earlier this month it was announced that the group would be headlining their first-ever festival later this year, when they appear at the 2024 instalment of Truck Festival.
As for Ezra Collective, the Jazz group will be performing at multiple festivals over the summer, including All Points East, Bilbao BBK Live, MEO Kalorama and BBC 6 Music Festival.
