The 2024 Kona Steel Guitar Festival

March 11, 2024 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

The 2nd Annual Kona Steel Guitar Festival will be held on April 4-6, 2024, at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa. The event will be held immediately preceding this year's Aloha Music Camp.

Thursday events include presentations at local area schools by festival musicians and NextGen steel guitarists, providing a cultural and musical experience to classroom participants. Students will also have an opportunity to try out the steel guitar under supervision of the presenters.

Friday's events include a vintage steel guitar exhibit, Open Stage performances, a workshop, and a public kanikapila. All resort events will be again held in the recently renovated Keauhou III & IV ballrooms, location of the 2023 Kona festival. The exhibit will be presented in the foyer outside the ballrooms.

A festival store located in the ballroom will offer steel guitar accessories, music CDs from festival artists and others, and festival T-shirts for sale.

Saturday's events include a continuation of the steel guitar exhibit and the festival store, and a main concert featuring seven steel guitarists and four NextGen steel guitarists. This year's artists include Alan Akaka, Pōmai Brown Billy Cardine, Al Greene, Jr., Bobby Ingano, Greg Sardinha, Dwight Tokumoto, and Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz. NextGen steel guitarists include Hi‘ipoi Lindsey, Enosa Lyman, Tai Misailidis, and Joey Misailidis. A public kanikapila will follow the concert.

The concert will be presented in two segments as it was last year, with a 2-hour intermission between segments. Both segments will be livestreamed.

The festival schedule, as well as a map of the resort property, can be downloaded from the festival website.