LIHU‘E — The 2013 E Kanikapila Kakou festival is halfway through its schedule this year, and it’s not losing steam. Hi‘ikua, the next Hawaiian band to take the stage, is being promised as a “hot trio” for Monday’s concert. “These
LIHU‘E — The 2013 E Kanikapila Kakou festival is halfway through its schedule this year, and it’s not losing steam. Hi‘ikua, the next Hawaiian band to take the stage, is being promised as a “hot trio” for Monday’s concert.
“These are not backyard singers, they are very trained musicians,” said Carol Yotsuda, executive director of the Garden Island Arts Council.
Yotsuda said Hi‘ikua — which means “to carry one’s back” — is a somewhat new but incredible group. Kalehua Krug and Kamuela Kimokeo used to play together on a different group. Blake Leoiki-Haili completes the trio.
“Hi‘ikua’s music reflects the belief that without asking, the knowledge of our ancestors has already been placed within us in the hope that we too will shoulder that responsibility in an unbroken journey into the future,” according to the group’s website.
EKK, sponsored by GIAC, runs for 10 weeks in a row, always on a Monday. Five concerts already happened, and after Hi‘ikua, there will be another four.
This year marks EKK’s 30th edition. All concerts are being held at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort in Nukoli‘i, between Hanama‘ulu and Wailua Golf Course.
Yotsuda said she has no idea of how Monday’s concert will turn out in terms of attendance. But she said there were 545 people at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort last week to watch a performance by Doric Yaris, Maka Herrod, Nathan Kalama and Puna Dawson.
All members of Hi‘ikua come form an impressive musical and Hawaiian background, judging by the group’s website.
Krug’s daytime job is at the University of Hawai‘i, working in a masters of education program that focuses on preparing Hawaiians to go into their communities to become educators, according to Hi‘ikua’s website. His grasp of Hawaiian language allows him to compose songs in Hawaiian. On Hi‘ikua’s latest album, he composed five of the six original songs.
Krug has worked with Amy Hanaiali‘i as a lyricist. One of his songs, Pa aheahe, was performed by Hanaiali‘i and Keali‘i Reichel, which earned the duo a Na Hoku Hanohano Awards nomination for Song of the Year, according to the website.
Kimokeo works for UH as a graduate assistant in the same program that Krug works. He has a bachelor’s degree in music and a minor in Hawaiian studies, according to Hi‘ikua’s website. He played music with and was mentored by an array of Hawaiian musicians, including Ledward Ka‘apana, Jerry Santos, Genoa Keawe, Dennis Pavao and others.
Kimokeo’s main musical influences were his father and Larry Reis, who used to play together at the Hawaiian Regent, now the Waikiki Beach Marriott. In 2009, Kimokeo was featured on the Grammy nominated and Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning album “Slack Key Kings vol. II,” with Holomoana, an original slack key song.
Leoiki-Haili attended King Intermediate School, where he and Kimokeo became friends. He used to play with Kimokeo’s father at the Hawaiian Regent, according to Hi‘ikua’s website. For that reason, Leoiki-Haili was influenced by Kimokeo’s father love for Kahauanu Lake Trio’s music and the music of legendary Moloka‘i musician George Helm.
Hi‘ikua will perform Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort. The show is free, but donations are being accepted.
Visit www.gardenislandarts.com or contact Carol Yotsuda at 245-2733 for more information on EKK music program.
