2017 Program

Click here to see the Festival's Event Schedule

The Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival will feature school visitations, a steel guitar workshop, kanikapila, Open Stage sessions, and a ho‘olaule‘a featuring several of Hawai‘i's steel guitar masters.

THURSDAY AND 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 Kaua‘i school is interested in such a presentation and has not been contacted, please fill out the contact form to reserve your opportunity.

FRIDAY OPEN STAGE SESSIONS where Hawaiian steel guitarists or bands with a Hawaiian Steel Guitar will present a 30-minute program to festival attendees. Performances will be presented from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM in the hotel's lounge area.

FRIDAY EVENING WORKSHOPS A Friday evening steel guitar workshop will feature a presentation on steel guitar construction. This will be followed by a steel guitar players' Question and Answer forum and demonstration featuring Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, and Bobby Ingano.

FRIDAY EVENING KANIKAPILA A public kanikapila jam session will be held in the lounge area. 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 OPEN STAGE SESSIONS will be presented on the outdoor stage from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Hawaiian steel guitarists or bands with a Hawaiian Steel Guitar will perform 30-minute programs. Saturday's open stage sessions will be hosted by Kaua‘i's Billy DeCosta.

SATURDAY EVENING HO'OLAULE'A program will be hosted by celebrity emcee Mele Apana. The Ho‘olaule‘a will showcase each of the Festival's featured performers in individual programs. The finale will feature all that evening's Ho‘olaule‘a steel guitarists playing together in a group kanikapila, round-robin style.

SATURDAY EVENING KANIKAPILA A public kanikapila jam session will be held in the lounge area. Festival guests are invited to bring their instruments, amplifiers, and music stands as appropriate and play along Hawaiian-style with the steel guitar masters.

Featured Steel Guitarists

Other Festival Performers

Pomaika‘i Lyman

Next Generation Steel Guitar Players

Two "Next Generation" Steel Guitar students of Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music will perform for festival attendees' enjoyment. These steel guitarists age 12 and 17, will play individually during the Open Stage Entertainment and in the main evening program, accompanied by students from local area schools.

Workshops

A workshop on steel guitar construction will be presented.

Open Stage Entertainment

Open Stage Performers

Friday and Saturday Open stage entertainment will feature guest artists and performers. These 30-minute playing sessions will showcase steel guitarists from all over the world, including some Aloha Music Camp attendees. Shown here, Dave Kolars (DeKalb, IL), Daniel Villani (Long Beach, CA), Jack Aldrich (Seattle, WA), Joe Stewart (Broomfield, CO), Rhonda Murotake (Los Angeles, CA), and Mark Alan Mendes (San Diego, CA).

The Proclamation

Kaua‘i mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., will issue a proclamation declaring Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, 2017, as Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Appreciation Days. See the text of the proclamation here.

The Festival Poster

2017 Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival Poster

The Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival poster was designed by Addison Ching and features pictures of the master performers superimposed on a silhouette of a Excel 8-string Frypan steel guitar. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.