Kaua‘i Festival Features Expanded Program

February 12, 2022 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

The Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival is back!

The festival was paused during the Coronavirus pandemic but is scheduled to resume this Spring. The 2022 festival is scheduled for March 31-April 1, ahead of the 2022 Aloha Music Camp. Both events will be held at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort.

This year's festival will largely follow the format of previous festivals, except for the Saturday Ho‘olaule‘a program. This year the ho‘olaule‘a will be presented in two sessions, with a 2-hour intermission between the sessions. Previous festivals presented the ho‘olaule‘a in one continuous 6-hour program.

The main concert will feature nine steel guitar players in separate programs. Five steel guitarists will perform during the first session from Noon to 3 P.M., and the remaining steel guitarists will perform during the second session from 5 P.M. to approximately 8 P.M.

Kilipaki Vaughan, Geromino "Geri" Valdriz, Dave "DK" Kolars, Kapono Lopes, and Alan Akaka will perform in the first session. The second session will include Patti Maxine, Greg Sardinha, Bobby Ingano, and Ed Punua.

Kilipaki Vaughan ‘Ohana at 2020 Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival. From left: Adam Asing,
Piko Vaughan on ‘ukulele, Kilipaki Vaughan, and Kaipo Asing on guitar, with Ana and Nae Vaughan dancing hula.

Both ho‘olaule‘a sessions will be livestreamed on the Facebook pages of the Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival and the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase, and on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's YouTube channel.

The festival will also feature school visitations on Thursday and Friday, a Thursday night Kickoff Kanikapila in the hotel's bar courtyard, an Open Stage program and workshops on Friday, and Kanikapila sessions Friday and Saturday evening. As with previous festivals, a steel guitar exhibit, hands-on opportunities, and a festival store will also be included in festival activities.

This year's festival is supported in part by the by Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Kūkulu Ola Program, administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. The festival is also supported in part by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).