2014 Festival Information

The 2014 Festival will be held at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel on April 11-13, 2014. Hawaiian music featuring the Hawaiian steel guitar will presented at the festival by an international complement of steel guitarists from Hawai‘i, California, Texas and Japan. Hawaiian Steel Guitar masters Alan Akaka, Jeff Au Hoy, Ross Ka'a'a, Joel Katz, Ed Punua, Owana Salazar, Greg Sardinha, and Geri Valdriz from Hawaii, California's Patti Maxine, Tony Locke from Texas, and Japan's Lion Kobayashi will head the lineup of players during Ho'olaule'a programs. This year, Ho‘olaule‘a programs have been increased to both Friday and Saturday evenings, with different programs and players at each Ho'olaule'a.

Saturday Workshops will be given on various musical and cultural topics of interest, including Steel Guitar Instruction, Recording Methods, Playing Techniques, Ukulele, Hula, Hawaiian Songs & Slack Key, Hawaiian Style Singing and Lei Making. See the festival program for workshop instructors, times and locations.

Public "kanikapila" jam sessions will be held on Friday and Saturday nights and hosted by the master steel guitar players. Everyone is invited to participate and play along with the featured players and festival guest musicians. Bring your steel guitar and a portable amp if you wish; a sound system will be available for everyone to use.

Open Stage sessions will be presented on both Friday and Saturday from 11:00 to 4:00. These sessions will feature steel guitar players from Hawaii, all over the United States and the world in half-hour playing sessions. The players will include Konabob Stoffer and Joel Katz from Hawai‘i, Chuck Hughes from Colorado, Jack Aldrich from Washington, Ron Carter from New Zealand, Jeorg Schubert from Germany, and Shinichi Kakiuchi from Japan. In addition students from three Steel Guitar schools will perform. Students from Alan Akaka's Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music, Japan's Lion Kobayashi, and Joel Katz's first-ever Hawaiian Steel Guitar class from the University of Hawai‘i-Maui College will perform at various Open Stage sessions. Please consult the program for exact times.

The world-famous Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel's Sunday Brunch will feature entertainment by Greg Sardinha, The Hawaiian Serenaders, and Alan Akaka and The Islanders.

Other festival features include lobby entertainment by Joel Katz and a display of vintage steel guitars courtesy of Geri Valdriz. Festival T-shirts will be available for purchase at the festival information booth, as well as artists' CDs and festival posters. Information on the Asher Guitars and Lap Steels Alan Akaka Master Built Series 8-string Lap Steel Guitar will also be avialable at the information booth.

A very important part of the Festival not commonly seen by the general public are the school visitations made by festival teams comprising some master players, students, and other musicians. These teams, upon invitation, travel to various Maui schools at all levels from elementary to high school and present an educational and musical program that introduces attendees to the Hawaiian Steel Guitar. At the end of the presentation, attendees are invited to ask questions and try out the steel guitar if they desire. Shown here: 2013 school visitation to Kamehameha School-Elementary.

Maui Mahalo Gala Celebration and Fundraiser

A pre-festival Gala Celebration and Fundraiser will be held on April 10, 2014 at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel. The primary purpose of Maui Mahalo is a fundraising event to support the annual Maui Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival. The event also honors an individual who is a strong supporter of Hawaiian Music and the Hawaiian Steel Guitar, and someone who gives back to the community. The gala features a dinner, entertainment by some of the festival participants, a silent auction, and a presentation ceremony for this year's honoree.

This year's honoree is Senator Daniel K. Akaka (ret.).

Click here to see more information about this event.