Festival News

April 21, 2024 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

Here is the latest news about HIMELE's steel guitar festivals and events.

Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall

Six steel guitarists and four NextGen will perform at the 2024 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Fesitval at Windward Mall. The festival will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

Performing in this year's festival will be Alan Akaka, Pono Fernandez, Bobby Ingano, Paul Kim, Malie Lyman, and Greg Sardinha. NextGen steel guitarists performing are Hi‘ipoi Lindsey, Enosa Lyman, Tai Misailidis, Makamae Lyu-Napoleon, and Isabella Bertelmann.

Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival

Eight steel guitarists and steel groups from Japan will perform at the 2024 Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Fesitval. The festival will be held on Friday, July 12, 2024 as a part of the annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week.

The number of participants was capped at eight to accommodate the time allocated by the Royal Hawaiian Center. Several other Japanese steel guitarists expressed interest but unfortunately will not be able to participate in this year's event.

Participants in the 2024 festival, in alphabetical order, are Shinichi Kakiuchi, Yukio Katagiri, Masami "Matt" Kobayashi, Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi, Masami Sato and Makana, Paul Okubo, Moto Suzuki and Reina Miki, and Noriko and Shuji Tomita.