The Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience at Mauna Lani

May 24, 2022 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

A new concept will debut at the 2022 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival. Now branded as the Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience at Mauna Lani, the 2022 event will enhance the steel guitar performances at the resort for a total immersion experience for resort and festival guests.

The 2022 Experience will be held on December 8-11, 2022, at Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection on the Kohala Coast of Hawai‘i Island. The resort is North of Kona.

Sanjiv Hulugalli, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, says "…we [want to] keep the tradition of the steel guitar festival alive and well for the community and also for these young talent with (sic) you beautifully showcased on our last festival."

Breakfast Kanikapila at the HāLani Restaurant featuring Pono Fernandez, Joey Misailidis, Tai Misailidis
Kaipo Asing, Mālie Lyman, Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, and Ethan Goore. pc-Don Touchi

This year's event will feature the traditional festival ho‘olaule‘a and incorporate the resort's monthly Twilight at Kalāhuipua‘a "talk story" gathering at the resort's Eva Woods Cottage. These will be supplemented by periodic "boutique" performances throughout the day at various resort locations, including pop-ups at the Surf Shack, Canoe House, HāLani Restaurant, Francis Brown venue, and other locations that will immerse hotel and festival guests in a total steel guitar experience throughout the resort.

The Experience will also include steel guitar workshops, a vintage steel guitar exhibit, Open Stage performances, and kanikapila jam sessions and will run from Thursday through mid-day Sunday.

Participating steel guitarists have not yet been identified but are expected to include Alan Akaka, Bobby Ingano, Ed Punua, Greg Sardinha and Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz. These steel guitarists will be joined by Hawai‘i Island steel guitarists Pomai Brown, Sonny Lim, and Dwight Tokumoto. Actual performers and event schedule will be posted on the festival website when it becomes available.

As with other festivals, portions of the Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience at Mauna Lani will be livestreamed via the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection underwent a 15-month, $200 million renovation, redesign, and revitalization that was completed in January, 2020. The resort's 333 guest rooms were remodeled in driftwood tones and other hotel areas were redesigned and relocated for a better resort experience.

One of the highlights of the resort's reopening was the presentation of the 2019 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival, rescheduled to February, 2020 to coincide with the resort's reopening. The creation of the Experience in 2022 will enhance the musical experience of resort and festival guests even beyond what was experienced in 2020.

The Experience and the livestream broadcasts are supported in part by the by Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Kūkulu Ola Program, administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. The Experience 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).