Open Stage Signups Underway

September 5, 2023 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

Signups for the 2023 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival's Open Stage are now available.

The 2023 event will be held on December 14-17, 2023, at the Mauna Lani Auberge Restorts Collection. Open Stage performances will be presented on Saturday, December 16.

This year's Open Stage will be held at the resort's Surf Shack, site of the 2022 Open Stage. Last year's performers were treated to beautiful outdoor weather and a breathtaking view of the shoreline and ocean.

Al Greene, Jr. and his group from the 2022 Experience Open Stage. pc-Alan Akaka

The Open Stage provides an excellent opportunity for steel guitarists to develop or enhance their performance skills and improve their performance confidence in front of a live audience.

If you or your group are interested in participating, please see the festival's contact page for additional information, requirements, and a signup form. Participants or participant groups must include a Hawaiian steel guitar, and Hawaiian-related music is encouraged. Backup musicians may be available if required.

The Open Stage is one of many components that will make up this year's festival. Other festival events include a vintage steel guitar exhibit, public kanikapila sessions, workshops, a steel guitar concert, the resort's Twilight at Kalāhuipua‘a cultural program, restaurant entertainment at the Surf Shack and HāLani Restaurants, and school visitations.

School visistations for festivals on Hawai‘i Island, Maui, and Kaua‘i have now resumed and are available to public and private local area schools. Presentation teams, comprising festival and NextGen student musicians, will present a brief history of the steel guitar and its role in Hawaiian music and culture, perform musical demonstrations, and provde opportunities for classroom students to try out the instrument under the guidance of festival and NextGen musicians.