Hawaiian Legends are a hit

PUHI — The Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center welcomed a full house April 7 during a rare performance by a quartet of musicians dubbed The Hawaiian Legends.

“This is the best Hawaiian music you are ever going to hear,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said prior to the performance.

As promised, Ledward Ka‘apana, Nathan Aweau, Dennis Kamakahi and Mike Ka‘awa delivered a magical, spontaneous and high-energy performance, full of song and storytelling.

During one of his many stories throughout the evening, three-time Grammy winner Kamakahi joked about what makes a good slack key guitarist.

A good slack key player takes 20 minutes to tune for a three-minute song, he said.

During the first set, Aweau and Kamakahi each performed a solo set before Ka‘apana and Ka‘awa — who emcee Kaiulani Kahalekai described as the “dynamic duo” — took the stage.

After a brief intermission, the quartet performed as a group, jamming and feeding off each other’s talents.

Ken Levine, owner of Kuleana Music in Kalaheo, said he has had the pleasure of working with the musicians for over three years and that their performance April 7 was “by far the best.”

“They were instantly in sync and integrated … It was without a doubt an out-of-body, transcendental musical experience,” he said.