More than 30 performers and musical groups came together on one stage for the 10th Annual Homegrown Music Festival last weekend in Moloa‘a. It’s the only multi-day festival on Kaua‘i which features Kaua‘i performers — musicians, singers, fire dancers, aerial-silk
More than 30 performers and musical groups came together on one stage for the 10th Annual Homegrown Music Festival last weekend in Moloa‘a. It’s the only multi-day festival on Kaua‘i which features Kaua‘i performers — musicians, singers, fire dancers, aerial-silk dancers and more. Dove Liddle of Dove Presents produces and promotes the show each year, as well as many other shows throughout Hawai‘i.
Liddle, who not only saw the need for a festival event on Kaua‘i, also has a specific purpose for lining up so many acts over two days. “The idea of the homegrown festival is to get a main act to headline in order to showcase a line up of relatively unknown local talent to a bigger audience,” Liddle said. “To get up-and-coming artists to get exposure … quite a few artists have had their careers launched from homegrown.”
Liddle explained the event is a chance for bands to play in front of 300 to 400 people, as opposed to, say, a bar on island where only 10 or so people are there. “There are not a lot of outlets on this island for musicians,” he said.
The variety of music found at the Homegrown Music Festival is not found at any other concert. On Saturday evening the acts flowed from the rock ‘n’ roll sound of Rumbletone to the ska/punk beat of Skunkdog to the island favorite Sashamon to the bluesy, groovy Donavon Frankenreiter with the Yes Men. And that was only about four hours worth; the show ran from 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
In addition to the music, what draws the crowds to the homegrown (Liddle estimated some 600 people attended this last one) is the relaxing, community and family feel of the show. Children were let in free, and a sliding scale of suggested donations was accepted at the door, which made it affordable and allows families to experience and appreciate live music together.
Dove Presents has produced numerous shows, such as Michael Franti and Spearhead, Citizen Cope, Ozomatli, Bill Kreutzmann, Mike Gordon, and Steve Kimock, Groundation and Sudden Rush, just to name a few. Also, Liddle is a musician himself, and a long-time DJ at KKCR. His parents introduced him to the gift of music when he was young.
“I started going to see live music at a young age,” said Liddle. “How I was raised, it was always a really positive thing.” As he got older, he started to go see shows on his own. At 16, he saw Prince at the Forum in Los Angeles, and at 18 he saw The Grateful Dead in Ventura, Calif. It was around this time Liddle began to go to multi-day festivals, and play at them as well. He was a performer at the Oregon County Fair in 1996, playing “Dylan-style folk music.”
The first homegrown festival was held at the taro patch in Anahola in 2000, and since then has changed venues and evolved over the years. But the intention has remained the same. “It’s not your everyday concert which is based around making money. It’s about families coming together, and it’s about getting the artists together in the community.”
Liddle’s passion for bringing music to the people has sparked a new idea of his he hopes to see materialize one day. He wants to establish a real music venue for Kaua‘i, perhaps rebuilding the historic Roxy Theatre, or building an outdoor amphitheater. “I think it would be an amazing thing to do, obviously there is a major need for this in the community,” he said. Coming up, Dove Presents is hosting a concert featuring Toni Childs on Nov. 10 at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center. Visit www.dovepresents.com for more information.
