LIHU‘E — The soothing sounds of the slack-key guitar will fill the air at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort near Hanama‘ulu Nov. 14 as 17 musicians take the stage, including Kaua‘i’s own Paul Togioka, Cindy Combs, Norman Ka‘awa and Sandy and
LIHU‘E — The soothing sounds of the slack-key guitar will fill the air at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort near Hanama‘ulu Nov. 14 as 17 musicians take the stage, including Kaua‘i’s own Paul Togioka, Cindy Combs, Norman Ka‘awa and Sandy and Doug McMaster.
The Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival, sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, began 28 years ago on O‘ahu and pays tribute to the beauty and richness of Hawai‘i through slack-key music.
And just like the last 28 years, admission to Sunday’s concert is free.
“And it’s always going to be free,” said Milton Lau, producer of the festival.
“We just want to play music and share this art form that’s 180 years old.”
Also known as “ki ho‘alu,” which means “loosen the key” in Hawaiian, the music of slack-key guitar is a finger-picked style of playing.
It produces different tunings that create a lingering sound behind the melody, according to the festival’s website.
Slack-key guitar remained relatively unknown until the 1970s when musicians such as Kauaian Raymond Kane, Sonny Chillingworth and Leonard Kwan released recordings of their music.
Their music inspired a new generation of slack-key guitarists to carry on the tradition.
“That was my dream when I was younger. My goals were to meet Raymond Kane and to play the slack-key festival,” said Patrick Landeza, a California slack-key guitarist born on the “island of Berkeley.”
“And I achieved that when I was 22 years old. To me, that was the Super Bowl.”
Landeza, who was born to Hawaiian parents, said he uses the slack-key guitar as a tool to discover his Hawaiian roots.
He credits George Winston, who founded Dancing Cat Records on Maui, a label specializing in slack-key albums, as his gateway to slack-key guitar.
“For guys like me, he planted that seed,” Landeza said.
Musician Dennis Kamakahi, who has released an extensive series of albums and is signed to Dancing Cat Records, has played music professionally for 43 years.
Kamakahi has performed at the festival since its beginning and every year since.
A former member of the Hawaiian folk-music group Sons of Hawai‘i, Kamakahi said he writes a lot of music when he visits Kaua‘i.
“I go up to Koke‘e, which is my favorite place,” Kamakahi said. “The scenery, the flora, the fauna — it’s beautiful.”
Kamakahi believes slack-key guitar is a true Hawaiian art, but its growing popularity on the Mainland cannot be denied.
“I do a lot of concerts in the performing-arts centers on the Mainland and it’s standing-room only.”
Like Kamakahi, slack-key guitarist Makana has performed at the festival since it began touring neighboring islands in 1992.
“My favorite memory to this day was the first slack-key festival (performed in Kaua‘i),” Makana said. “I got a standing ovation and it was a turning point for me in music, and the people there really accepted it. I was really young then, and I remember the energy in the room was magic.”
Makana said that the festival is a community service on behalf of Lau and all of the musicians.
“We are perpetuating for the community,” said Makana. “Every year we give them a free concert, and the turnout is always great. It’s an important part of us keeping it alive.”
The festival has served as a way to cultivate new talent and carry on the art form.
Lau’s goal is to keep the festival “a real Hawaiian event,” and he makes it a point to only invite a handful of slack-key musicians from the Mainland.
“The main practitioners are in Hawai‘i,” Lau said. “But there’s so many players from the Mainland, and a lot of them want to play in the festivals in Hawai‘i to legitimize themselves.”
One of those artists is Jim “Kimo” West.
Dividing his time between Los Angeles and Maui, West is another Mainland slack-key guitarist who earned his spot in the festival lineup.
“My favorite memory is my very first festival where I met all these guys that I’ve listened to on CDs,” West said. “I felt like such an outsider, even though I lived in Hana for a very long time, but they accepted into the slack-key family.”
For the past three decades, Lau has created a family of slack-key guitarists, and their sentiment toward him is of deep gratitude for keeping the tradition of slack-key guitar alive, and giving future generations the opportunity to perform in the festival.
“I have to thank people like Milton Lau,” Landeza said. “He always is looking forward, and never looking back.”
Other performers include Brother Noland, Danny Carvalho, Dwight Kanae, Stephen Inglis, Bobby Moderow, David Kahiapo and LT Smooth.
Lau said Sunday’s festival will be dedicated to the memory of pro surfer Andy Irons.
Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and performances are from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
Visit slackkeyfestival.com for more information.
