2018 Program

Click to see the festival's event schedules

A STEEL GUITAR EXHIBIT featuring vintage lap steel guitars will be on display, some dating back to the 1930s.

FRIDAY SCHOOL PRESENTATIONS The festival's educational component provides learning opportunities for local area schools. These educational presentations will be made by teams of festival steel guitar masters and are geared towards reintroducing the Hawaiian steel guitar to the younger generation and to get them interested in the instrument and its importance in Hawaiian music. If your Maui school is interested in such a presentation and has not been contacted, please fill out the contact form to reserve your opportunity.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OPEN STAGE SESSIONS where Hawaiian steel guitarists or bands with a Hawaiian Steel Guitar will present 30-minute programs to festival attendees. Performances will be presented from mid-morning through early afternoon.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING HO‘OLAULE‘A programs will showcase each of the Festival's featured performers in individual programs. A different group of steel guitar masters and artists will be featured each night.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING KANIKAPILA jam sessions will be held in the 'Ohana Room. Festival guests are invited to bring their instruments, amplifiers, and music stands as appropriate and play along Hawaiian-style with the steel guitar masters.

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS covering various steel guitar topics will be offered.

SUNDAY HO‘OLAULE‘A at Kahului's Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center will feature a steel guitar exhibit and several steel guitar masters in individual programs.

Featured Steel Guitarists

• Alan Akaka
• Tadashi Arakawa
• Bobby Ingano
• Joel Katz
• Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi
• Dave "DK" Kolars
• Patti Maxine
• Greg Sardinha
• Alexis Tolentino
• Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz

Next Generation Steel Guitar Players

"Next Generation" Steel Guitar students of Ke Kula Mele Hawaii School of Hawaiian Music will perform for festival attendees' enjoyment. These steel guitarists as young as age 12 will play individually during the Open Stage Entertainment and in the main evening program.

• Pono Fernandez
• Mālie Lyman
• Joey Misailidis
• Tai Misailidis

Special Guest Darren Lee

Workshops

Steel guitar workshops will include "What Tuning To Use" by Alan Akaka, "Chiming with Bobby Ingano," "Talk Story with Patti Maxine," and "The Other Side of Hawaiian Music" with Greg Sardinha.

Open Stage Entertainment - Friday and Saturday Daytime

Friday and Saturday Open stage entertainment will feature guest artists and performers. These 30-minute playing sessions will showcase steel guitarists and steel guitar schools from all over the world. This year's performances include students from three Hawaiian music schools from Japan and Hawaii.

• Anegogumi (Yokohama, Japan)
  
• Troy Brenningmeyer
  
• Shinichi Kakiuchi (Fujimino City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan)
  
• Yukio Katagiri (Aisai City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan)
  
• Lion Halau (Tokyo, Japan)
  
• Ke Kula Mele Hawaii
  
• Yokohama Hawaiian Music Academy Band (Yokohama, Japan)
  

Steel Guitar Ho'olaule'a - Friday and Saturday Evenings

Vintage Lap Steel Guitar Exhibit

Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center Program

This year's festival will be held at two venues. Upon conclusion of the main festival at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel, select master steel guitarists from Hawaii and Japan will continue performances at the Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center in Kahului from 11 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Sunday. The vintage lap steel guitar exhibit will also be on display at the center.

The Proclamation

Maui County mayor Alan M. Arakawa or a representative from his office will present a Mayoral proclamation on Sunday, April 15 at noon, declaring the week of April 9-15, 2018, as Maui Steel Guitar Appreciation Week. See the text of the proclamation here.

The Festival Posters