2019 Festival Information

This year's festival will be held in two locations. The Outlets of Maui is the festival site for Friday and Saturday, April 12-13, 2019, and Kahului's Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center will be the festival site on Sunday, April 14, 2019. The Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center program will be expanded to the entire day. All programs will feature steel guitarists from Maui and O‘ahu.

The Outlets of Maui Festival

The festival at the Outlets of Maui will include a vintage steel guitar exhibit courtesy of Geri Valdriz, Open Stage sessions, Friday and Saturday ho‘olaule‘a pageants, Friday and Saturday public kanikapila jam sessions, and Saturday workshops.

Open Stage sessions will be presented on Friday from approximately 2:00-3:00 PM and Saturday from 1:30-3:00 PM. Friday's session will feature Maui group Kuikawa, and Saturday's session will feature Joel Katz followed by the Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i steel guitarists and ensemble. These sessions will feature steel guitar players from the United States and abroad in half-hour playing sessions.

The Friday and Saturday ho‘olaule‘a pageants will feature 5-6 different steel guitar presentations each night and run from approximately 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM.

Public "kanikapila" jam sessions will be held Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 8:30 PM and hosted by the master steel guitar players. Everyone is invited to participate and play along with the featured players and festival guest musicians. Musicians are advised to bring their own instruments, amplifiers and music stands if required.

Saturday Workshops will be given on the Hawaiian steel guitar and topics related to the instrument.

The Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center Festival

The Queen Ka‘ahamanu Center festival will feature a ho‘olaule‘a pageant featuring eight different steel guitar presentations beginning at 11:00 AM. The festival will also feature hands-on opportunities for festival guests to try out the steel guitar.