Wordsmiths and musicians from across Hawai’i gather Saturday at the Kaua’i Songwriters Music Festival.
The state’s first-ever Poet Laureate, Kealoha, will host the event along with Grammy-winning guitarist Ken Emerson, North Shore’s Allan Thomas and eight other songwriters.
That’s a long time coming, according to festival organizer Terry Low of the nonprofit Kaua’i Arts.
“We were going to do a gig at KCC (Kaua’i Community College) right before COVID,” Low told The Garden Island. “We had to cancel the whole thing…so it’s kind of reborn.”
But good things come to those who wait.
The festival at the Hilton Garden Inn Kaua’i Wailua Bay is supported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Community Enrichment Program.
Festival talent is loaded with good faith.
“Ken Emerson won a Grammy for a slack-key Hawaiian album,” Low said. “He also has a Kahili award for keeping Hawaiian culture alive, which he said was an even greater honor for him.”
Thomas, a longtime Kaua’i resident, released his seventh studio album, “The Journey,” last summer. The Na Hoku Hanohano award winner has worked with Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Cannonball Adderly, David Crosby, Graham Nash and many other musicians affiliated with Sting, Elton Jon, Bob Dylan and many more.
Kealoha, who studied nuclear engineering while a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, could also delve into his repertoire.
“He has this science background, so he brings some of that into his performance,” Low said. “But he also integrates it with Hawaiian cultural things.”
Doors to the Kaua’i Songwriters Music Festival open at 3:30 p.m. The concert will take place from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, available in advance from the Brown Paper Tickets website, brownpapertickets.com, or purchased in person at Hanalei Strings, Scotty’s Music, Larry’s Music, and Talk Story Bookstore.
• Info: artskauai.org
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Scott yunkerjournalist, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
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