Kamaole Sands Direct

Two of the most influential Hawaiian recording artists today, Keola Beamer and Raiatea Helm, will appear in concert at the MACC Castle Theater on Saturday, August 28th.

Keola and Raiatea will perform music from their new release, “Keola Beamer & Raiatea.”  The Spring Wind Quintet of Chamber Music Hawai’i will make a special guest appearance on several songs, including the Hawaiian interpretation of John Lennon’s classic “Imagine” (Ina).

Keola and Raiatea will also perform tunes from their solo recordings, which have charmed audiences across the globe. Don’t miss this special night of music magic! At $30 to $45 (plus Ticket Bastard fees) it’s hard to go wrong. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Saturday, August 7 at 10 am.

The last time I saw Keola at the MACC  he performed with Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakaiat in the marvelously intimate McCoy Theater. It was an incredible blend of indigenous music and I was embarrassed to find out I had better seats than R.s spouse. For me, my last Raiatea performance at the MACC was with Eric Gilliom, Uncle Willie K and the rest of the Barefoot Natives plus Mick Fleetwoods ‘Island Rumors’, Kalapana and Nathan Aweau. This unbelievable assembly of musical tallent was at the second–and sadly last–Barefoot Bash. Barefoot 2 may be about as close as you can come to topping Makaha Bash 3.

Go see Keola and Raiatea. You won’t be disappointed. Guaranz!

Celestial Cinema

Here’s a Maui Arts and Cultural Center event that you won’t even have to drive to Kahului to attend. The 2010 Maui Film Festival at Wailea is running now through June 20th. Of course, if you want to head Kahului side, there will also be screenings in the Castle Theater.

The film lineup for this year’s festival is simply outstanding. It includes Cyrus staring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener. Cyrus takes an insightful and quirky look at love and family in contemporary Los Angeles.

Local entries include Ho’okele Wa’a: Turning the Canoe and Hana Surf Girls.

Head south from our condo at Kamaole Sands and catch a movie or two while still enjoying the a gorgeous Maui night under the stars. Celestial Cinema: what a wonderful idea!

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Maui musicians took home a large share of the 2010 Na Hoku Hanohano awards–the Hawaiian equivalent of  a Grammy. Maui based winners included:

• Male Vocalist of the Year – Willie K for Uncle Willie K Live from Mulligans on the Blue(recorded just down the road from the condo).
• Most Promising Artist and Contemporary Albums of the Year awards - Anuhea Jenkins for Anuhea. She perfromed at this  years Whale Fest.
• Jazz Album of the Year – Hula Honeys, Girl Talk. You can catch the Honeys on their DJ gig on Manao Radio.
• Slack Key Album of the Year – Jeff Peterson, Maui On My Mind.

Congratulations to all of this years winners. For the record, I was a bit out of sync with the Academy this year. The final ballot this year contained sets of simply outstanding performers in almost all of the groups. I think I only voted for 3 of the winners. Voting sort of came down to “which one of your children do you like best?”

It used to be that radio broadcasting was largely a community-based endeavour. Locally-owned stations, largely programmed by people in the community. Sadly, those days are pretty much gone. Most stations these days are owned and identically programmed by giants like Clear Channel and Cumulus Media. The goal for these organizations has everything to do with extracting profit and almost nothing whatsoever to do with honoring the intent of the licenses they hold–serving the community.

Fortunately, there are exceptions and Maui is lucky enough to have a great little low power FM station, KEAO-LP, 91.5, operating under the tag line “Mana`o Radio.”  The unfortunate part is that south Kihei is pretty much outside of the stations broadcast coverage area, but they also stream their programming on Internet (it’s a series of tubes) so you can listen in while you’re in the condo. In the car, tune up 91.5 and by the time you get to the old Suda store, you’ll have a pretty reliable signal and the closer you get to Kahului / Wailuku, the better.

In describing the programming, two words come to mind, “eclectic” and “fun.” I also think the programming does a good job of aligning with the station’s mission statement which says “To inform, educate, and entertain the Maui community with radio broadcasts of multi-cultural and community-related programming, with special emphasis on the interests and needs of older adults.”

Give ‘em a listen, either on the web, or on the air. Let me know what you think.

Mana`o radio is non-profit, community supported and here’s great way to help out. Sunday, March 7, 2010 is BarryFest 2010 – the musical extravaganza of the year! Great entertainment, onolicious food, silent auction, vendors, Mana’o logowear, and more! BTOBS!

Be sure and check-out the schedule for the Maui Performing Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) during your stay on Maui. They have some really great Hawaiian and mainstream entertainment. Visit the website at http://www.mauiarts.org/

On Sunday, June 28, the Maui Arts and Cultural Center hosts the 18th Annual Ki Ho‘alu Festival. And it’s FREE!

Bring the beach chairs or a blanket and enjoy an all-afternoon, all-star line-up of Hawai‘i’s best slack key guitar musicians, including Kevin & Ikaika Brown, Makana, George Kahumoku, Jr., Dennis Kamakahi, Jeff Peterson, Ken Makuakane, LT Smooth, Donald Kaulia, Ocean Kaowili, David Kahiapo, Stephen Inglis, Walter Keale, Paul Togioka, Pali, Bobby Moderow, Jr., and more! Bring the whole ‘ohana … it’s FREE!

A Taste of Maui is sold out, but there are still tickets available for Celestial Cinema. The Maui Film Festival runs through Sunday, June 21. Tickets are still available for screenings at both Wailea and the MACC. More Information…