The musical spirit of the Hawaiian islands and its welcoming aloha culture will flood Redondo Beach with laid-back waves thanks to the return of the Southern California Slack Key Festival.
“One thing that’s special about this concert is that it really is a whole community coming together and playing music that’s all about love for Hawaii. It’s like you get to have a little day in Hawaii,” said Kamuela Kimokeo, guitarist for Hi’ikua, one of the bands on the bill for the Jan. 14 festival.
The annual festival, now in its 17th year, will bring together a list of who’s who of the musical tradition known as ki ho’alu (slack key), a Hawaiian style of acoustic guitar playing defined by the solo finger-pick style that produces a chill, lingering and relaxing sound. People can also see hula dancers and shop at a Hawaiian-themed marketplace throughout the day.
“There’s just a wide variety of styles, colors and music. I think it’s a fun representation of what slack key is and Hawaiian music in general,” said Mitch Chang, festival organizer and producer.
This year’s line-up includes new faces to the festival such as award winning trio Kulāiw, which earned the 2022 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Album of the Year Award plus the Hawaiian Album of the Year Award, Group of the Year Award and other accolades.
Joining them as first-time participants of the long-running festival is slack key guitarist and vocalist Sean Parks as well as singer-songwriter Leokane Pryor and Namaka Cosma, a graduate of the Institute of Hawaiian Music program at the University of Hawaii Maui College and one of only a handful of women in the state pursuing the art of slack key guitar.
“We have a lot of new faces, up and coming artists because we have to keep it fresh. It’s encouraging to see people from the younger generation keep it going,” Chang said.
The majority of the lineup is made up of returning artists who have performed at the festival several times, including…
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