Slack key guitar, or ki ho‘alu, is in the spotlight on Monday when E Kanikapila Kakou opens the doors to the Kaua‘i Beach Resort ballroom at 5:30 p.m.
Ki ho‘alu, and the many songs written for it, including several featuring Kaua‘i, will greet people who can join guest artist Stephen Inglis, a Grammy-nominated musician. Inglis will teach jam participants a song he composed. Jam participants will learn to play the song and later present it to the audience.
When the jam ends at 5:55 p.m., Inglis will be joined by Kamuela Kaho‘ano and Dwight Kanae on stage for a presentation of Hawaiian music and song with members of the audience encouraged to spontaneously dance hula with a surprise guest, who will be part of the program.
Inglis, born and raised in Honolulu, records and tours with the most respected traditional musicians. His duet album, “Waimaka Helelei,” done with the late legend Dennis Kamakahi, won Hawai‘i’s highest musical honor, Na Hoku Hanohano, according to a release from the Garden Island Arts Council, originator of E Kanikapila Kakou.
The award and CD are on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
Inglis also won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award with the rock group Piranha Brothers, and his performances often include slack key interpretations of songs by Bob Dylan and others.
Kaho‘ano is a two-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner and an 11-time nominee, who holds a bachelor’s degree in music composition from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
He has won two Best-of-Weddings awards from The Knot, and has self-produced all eight of his own albums, producing, mixing and mastering his own original compositions. Kaho‘ano has co-produced for Sony on the album “Aloha and Mahalo 2” and is a Slack Key Foundation touring member.
Kanae has been playing the ‘ukulele since small-kid time, growing up in Kane‘ohe, O‘ahu. His passion for music led him to the guitar at the age of 14, when he credits his mother for introducing him to and mentoring him in slack key guitar.
His musical talent and style have made him well-known and highly sought by entertainers and audiences throughout the islands.
He has played and recorded with some of Hawai‘i’s greats, including the late Kaua‘i resident Malani Bilyeu, Martin Pahinui, Palani Vaughan, Moe Keale, Kelly Boy Delima, Makaha Sons and Jake Shimabukuro.
He was also a member with the Peter Moon Band, an alternate member of the Sons of Hawai‘i, one half of the duo Kane‘ohe, and solo performer since 2004 with the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival’s annual Kihoalu Concert Series by Milton Lau.
Kanae has invited his good friend, Kaua‘i violinist Kimberly Hope, to share the stage on a few numbers.
E Kanikapila Kakou literally means “let’s play a stringed instrument, together,” and the Monday presentations represent the best of Hawaiian music, with many opting to join the jam session of guitar and ‘ukulele players at the start of the program.
Food and beverages are available for sale. CDs of the performers are generally available for sale, along with EKK T-shirts, various artists’ crafts, and the BoroBoro Boutique up-styled garments rendered by Garden Island Arts Council artists.
w Info: gardenislandarts.org, ekk2023.eventbrite.com
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 ordfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
