February 7-9, 2020 – 12-6pm
Get your grass skirt ready and start stretching out those hula hips because it’s time for the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival! The festival is scheduled for February 7-9, 2020 at the Mauna Lani Resort in Kamuela. The festival is being held to celebrate the grand re-opening of the hotel and the completion of its $100 million renovation project that’s been going on since October 2018.
History of Hawaiian Steel Guitar
It’s hard to think of a sound more iconic of island living than the slide of a steel guitar. The minute you hear it, you’re immediately transported to a tropical beach with your feet in the sand and a pina colada in your hand.
In the 1890s, a Hawaiian musician and student named Joseph Kekuku discovered that when he slid a metal railroad spike over the strings of his guitar, it made a unique sound. He started to make alterations to his guitar to make playing with a slide easier. Kekuku showed his new technique to his classmates and the idea took off. Soon, musicians all over the islands were playing “slide guitar.”
When Hawaii was annexed by the United States at the turn of the 20th century, Kekuku left the islands to travel the mainland. His unique style of guitar playing was loved by his new audience. Steel guitar music took off, and by 1916, Hawaiian steel guitar records outsold every other genre of music in the United States.
The Festival
The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival is a celebration of the music that has defined Hawaiian culture for over 100 years. If you’re a budding steel guitar player, the festival will offer several workshops taught by Hawaiian steel guitar masters, jam sessions and open stage performances where masters and amateurs alike can showcase their music. For those less musically inclined, sit back and enjoy live performances from some of the greatest steel guitar players in the world.
The festival is free to the public and is presented by the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection and the Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE), along with the Ke Kula Mele Hawaii School of Hawaiian Music with support from corporate and private donors.
See you there!