Keiki Steel Guitar Festival Coming in August

July 13, 2024 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

The 2024 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival: Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall will be presented on August 17, 2024, at the Kahala Mall Center Court. Performances will begin at 11:00 AM and run through 1:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

This will be the fourth annual presentation of this event. Festivals in 2020 and 2021 were not held due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

This year's presentation will include two new NextGen steel guitarists who will perform at Keiki Kine for the first time. Ever Ta‘ala and Isaac Woodward are recent additions to the group of NextGen steel guitarists and have previously performed at other festivals.

Ever Ta‘ala is 15 years old, attends Kamehameha School Kapalama Campus, likes to sing and play the guitar, and aspires to become a doctor.

11-year old Isaac Woodward aspires to become a steel guitar player in his father's band. His dad is Kekoa Woodward of the Hawaiian group Walea.

Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival: Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall will also feature NextGen steel guitarists Hi‘ipoi Lindsey, Tai Misailidis, Makamae Lyu-Napoleon, and Isabella Bertelmann. Emcee for the event will be Jake Kuliaikanu‘u Fernandez.

The event's performance schedule as well as other festival information can be obtained at the festival's website.

In addition to support from the Kahala Mall, NextGen steel guitarists also receive equpment and supplies from Breezy Ridge® Instruments, Ltd., the home of John Pearse® Strings. Support for the festival also comes from the Hawai‘i State Foundaion for Culture and The Arts and the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation.

The Kahala Mall festival is one of several seel guitar festivals offered on O‘ahu that are focused on the community and are presented at shopping destinations that can easily accommodate the community. The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Ka Makana Ali‘i was presented in February at the Kapolei shopping center to serve the West O‘ahu community. The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall was presented in June at the Windward Mall to serve rural O‘ahu. Other community festivals are offered on Maui and Kaua‘i and may be expanded to Hawai‘i Island (Kona) in the future.