Steel Trappings

Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week

Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week Schedule Announced

June 17, 2022 • Addison ChingFestivals and Conventions

The 2022 Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week returns in full force on July 11, 2022, with Monday through Thursday nightly programs, the Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival on Friday, and the Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival on Saturday.

This will be the 4th annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week and the 12th Annual Waikīkīi Steel Guitar Festival. Also included in the weeklong event will be the 1st Annual Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival, featuring steel guitar players and bands from Japan. This event is the culmination of many years of planning by Hawai‘i and Japan-based steel guitar event planners, including Japanese steel guitarist Tadashi Arakawa who passed away earlier this year and was unable to realize the fruits of his planning. The 2022 Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival will be dedicated to him in his honor.

NextGen steel guitar players from Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music will kick off the nightly concert series. Appearing this year will be two new additions to the group of youth steel guitarists. Isabella Bertelmann and Makamae Lyu-Napoleon made their performance debut in the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall held in June.

The Monday-Thursday evening concerts will begin at 5:30 PM and last for one hour.

Tuesday's nightly concert will feature Paul Agar, visiting steel guitarist from Northern Rivers, New South Wales, Australia. Paul last participated in the Waikīkī event in 2019.

Greg Sardinha and Po‘okela will perform Wednesday night, and Alan Akaka and The Islanders will be Thursday night's offering. Both Po‘okela and The Islanders are fluid groups, comprising selected musicians chosen by Greg Sardinha and Alan Akaka for the event.

Friday night's Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival will begin at 4:00 PM. Japan's Matt Kobayashi, a versatile ‘ukulele and steel guitar player, will perform first, followed by Noriko and Shuji Tomita at 4:30 PM. Noriko will offer solo performances and accompany husband Shuji's vocals.

Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi with Lion Ladies Steel Guitar Ensemble
Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi with Lion Ladies Steel Guitar Ensemble
Hula Dancer Kapuanani with Emcee Kimo Kahoano
Hula Dancer Kapuanani with Emcee Kimo Kahoano. pc-Naldo Sue

The Lion Ladies Steel Guitar Ensemble, an all-female group of steel guitarists organized and directed by Japanese steel guitar legend Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi, will perform at 5:15 PM. Two of the four-member ensemble were unable to participate in the Waikīkī festival, and another member of Kobayashi's students will supplement the ensemble. Lion himself will perform following the Ladies Ensemble as the final performer of the Japan-Hawaiian festival. His performance will begin at 5:45 PM.

Saturday's Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival will be presented in two segments. The first segment will begin at 11:00 AM and feature Hawaiian steel guitarists Greg Sardinha and Po‘okela, Steve Cheney, Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz from Maui, Joseph Zayac, Kapono Lopes, and Jeff Au Hoy in 30-minute performances concluding at 2:30 PM.

The second segment will begin at 4:00 PM with performances by Australia's Paul Agar, Bobby Ingano, Japan's Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi, and Alan Akaka and The Islanders. The second segment will run through 6:30 PM.

The complete event schedule is available from the festival website.

Both the Friday Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival and the Saturday Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

Emcee for the Monday-Thursday evening concerts and Saturday's Festival will be Kimo Kahoano. The Emcee for the Friday Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival will be KZOO radio personality Maggie Jackson. Hula will be provided for Friday's and Saturday's performances by Kapuanani.

The Royal Hawaiian Center and Festival Companies provides the venue and support for the event. Additional support comes from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Kūkulu Ola Program, administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, 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), and the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation.

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HIMELE Events
2023 Festivals and Workshops

Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall
June 10, 2023 – 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM HST
Windward Mall, Kāne‘ohe (O‘ahu), Hawai‘i

Royal Hawaiian Center Presents Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week (July 10-15, 2023)
July 10-13, 2023 – 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM HST
Royal Grove Stage, Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikīkī (O‘ahu), Hawai‘i

Royal Hawaiian Center Presents Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival
July 14, 2023 – 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Royal Grove Stage, Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikīkī (O‘ahu), Hawai‘i

Royal Hawaiian Center Presents Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival
July 15, 2023 – 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Royal Grove Stage, Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikīkī (O‘ahu), Hawai‘i

Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival Keiki Kine at Kāhala Mall
August 19, 2023 – 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Kahala Mall, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

2023 Northern California Hawaiian Steel Guitar Symposium *
September 24, 2023 – Odd Fellows Lodge, Cupertino, CA

Maui Steel Guitar Festival
October 14, 2023 – 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM HST
The Shops at Wailea, Wailea, Hawai‘i
October 15, 2023 – 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM HST
Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center, Kahului, Hawai‘i

2023 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase Livestream Broadcasts

Facebook LiveYouTube
All broadcasts originate from the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. Festival broadcasts may also stream from the respective festival's Facebook Page.


Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall
June 10, 2023 – 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM HST

Royal Hawaiian Center Presents Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival
July 14, 2023 Ho‘olaule‘a concert – 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM HST


Royal Hawaiian Center Presents Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival
July 15, 2023 Ho‘olaule‘a concert – 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM HST
Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall
August 19, 2023 – 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM HST

Livestream Steel Guitar Saturday — CANCELED
September 9, 2023 – 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM HST

Maui Steel Guitar Festival
October 15, 2023 Ho‘olaule‘a concert – Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center, – 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM HST

Livestream Steel Guitar Saturday — CANCELED
November 19, 2023 – 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM HST


Other Events
HSGA Virtual Festival 4
February 4, 2023 Facebook LiveYouTube

2023 AISGC Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival *
July 27-29, 2023 – Towne Square Community Center, Winchester, IN
Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association (HSGA) 2023 Festival *
September 21-23, 2023 – Odd Fellows Lodge, Cupertino, CA
* Registration Fee Required

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