Kauai may be the smallest of the four major Hawaiian islands, but for two months a year, it offers a bountiful showcase for some of the biggest names in Hawaiian music.
E Kanikapila Kakou (“Let’s play music together”) at the OUTRIGGER Kauai Beach Resort and Spa brings together musicians, singers, songwriters, composers and hula artists. The annual festival started in 1983 with one performance and a handful of audience members but has steadily grown over the years, and now offers weekly concerts in February and March at the resort in Lihue. Bonus: scheduled and impromptu hula performances are also part of the lively mix.
Featured Image: E Kanikapila Kakou Makana in Golden Na Leo
This year’s twin themes are “Music Heals” and “Hawaiian Music Traditions.” Singer and slack key guitar virtuoso Makana embraces the latter focus — and gets listeners in the mood for Valentine’s Day — with the kickoff concert Feb. 3. Called “Golden Na Leo: Makana Sings Hawaii’s Songs of Romance From the ‘50s and ‘60s,” the show features music from the icons of Waikiki’s Golden Era, including Alfred Apaka, Don Ho and Makana’s mentor Sonny Chillingworth, and audience members are encouraged to share the vibe by wearing retro aloha attire.
“I’m having a blast, and I’m excited to share these treasures from our past,” Makana told the Garden Island Arts Council, the founder and presenter of E Kanikapila Kakou. “There’s really almost nowhere in Hawaii one can go to hear the older styles. Virtually everyone has moved on. But I’ve always felt these classic musical contributions deserve our eternal enjoyment and celebration.”
While the musicians of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the ‘70s remain revered, the previous generation who sang “hapa haole” songs in English are often overlooked, according to Makana. Although Hawaii’s cultural, economic and even physical landscapes have changed greatly over the years, “perhaps this particular aesthetic still has great value to offer our diverse community,” he noted. “Simply, remembering a time when singing, laughing, socializing and appreciating beauty were core to our appreciation for being in Hawaii.”
If you miss Makana’s Kauai show, you can still catch him Feb. 15 in Honolulu. But if you’re traveling to Kauai through March 24, make sure you book one of the Monday night concerts of E Kanikapila Kakou. Here’s the rest of the engaging lineup:
The E Kanikapila Kakou Lineup:
February 10th: “The Music Within”
The newest generation of Kauai musicians will get their chance to shine in “The Music Within,” a concert by the award-winning Kapaa Middle School Choir and Ukulele Band, and alumni who continue to be active in music. Mary Lardizabal, the show’s director, has taught music to Kapaa middle schoolers for 30 years, receiving acclaims for their performances at the annual WorldStrides Music Festival in Anaheim. This show promises “local-style music” in a number of genres.
February 17th: “Jammin’ With the Masters”
“Jammin’ With the Masters” features four outstanding instrumentalist: slack-key guitarists Ledward Kaapana and Jeff Peterson, lap steel guitarist Bobby Ingano and ukulele artist David Kamakahi. “Jamming” is one way to translate kanikapila, sometimes spelled kani ka pila (literally, to make a stringed instrument make sound.)
February 24th: “The Amazing Charlotte Apo with the Mokihana Serenaders” and “Hot Kupuna Strut Their Stuff”
Seniors show they’ve still got it going on with the double bill of “The Amazing Charlotte Apo with the Mokihana Serenaders” and “Hot Kupuna Strut Their Stuff.” Listen to Apo play ukulele and sing “I Kona” on this YouTube video. ” The Mokihana Serenaders include her son Paul Ventura plus Pancho Graham, Norman Kaawa Solomon and Kilipaki Vaughan.
March 3rd: “Haa Hula All Through the Town”
Hula lovers won’t want to miss “Haa Hula All Through the Town,” a community hula show with the Malie Foundation & Kane Kumu Hula.
March 10th: “Lei Hiwahiwa: A Lei of Tributes” and “Mele & Memory: Alive in Song”
This doubleheader includes “Lei Hiwahiwa: A Lei of Tributes” by Madison Makanaokukahaku Scott and Kyle La Benz and “Mele & Memory: Alive in Song” by Kim Sueoka & Alan Van Zee. Scott is a blind jazz pianist and vocalist who also composes original Hawaiian music in a traditional style; her latest collection of new music is called “Lei Hiwahiwa,” meaning “precious lei.” Sueoka is a soprano trained in early and classical music as well as a fan of historical Hawaiian mele (songs.)
March 17th: “Hawaiian Soul: Mele Aloha Aina” (“Songs of the Love of the Land”)
Soul music gets a semi-tropical spin in “Hawaiian Soul: Mele Aloha Aina” (“Songs of the Love of the Land”), with an additional performance by Kamalei Kawaa, a Top 20 contestant in Season 25 of “The Voice.”
March 24th: “A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String
Concluding the festival on a similarly nostalgic note to Makana’s inaugural concert, singer Raiatea Helm presents “A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String” that highlights island music of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
All concerts start at 6 p.m., with ballroom doors opening at 5 p.m. Tickets are available on EventBrite.
