Wordsmiths and musicians from throughout Hawai‘i are meeting Saturday at the Kaua‘i Songwriters Music Festival.
The state’s first-ever poet laureate, Kealoha, will emcee the event featuring Grammy-winning guitarist Ken Emerson, the North Shore’s Allan Thomas and eight other songwriters.
It’s a long time coming, according to festival organizer Terry Low, of the nonprofit Kaua‘i Arts.
“We were going to do a concert at KCC (Kaua‘i Community College) just before COVID,” Low told The Garden Island. “We had to cancel the whole thing … so this is kind of being reborn.”
But good things come to those who wait.
The festival at the Hilton Garden Inn Kaua‘i Wailua Bay is supported by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s Community Enrichment Program.
The festival’s talent comes loaded with bona fides.
“Ken Emerson has won a Grammy for a Hawaiian slack-key album,” Low said. “He also has a Kahili Award for perpetuating Hawaiian culture which, he said, was an even a greater honor for him.”
Thomas, a longtime Kaua‘i resident, released his seventh studio album, “The Journey,” last summer. The Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winner has worked with Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Cannonball Adderly, David Crosby, Graham Nash and a slew of other musicians affiliated with the likes of Sting, Elton Jon, Bob Dylan and more.
Kealoha, who studied nuclear engineering while a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, may also delve into his repertoire.
“He’s got this science background, so he brings some of that into his performance,’” Low said. “But he incorporates it with Hawaiian cultural things as well.”
The Kaua‘i Songwriters Music Festival’s doors open at 3:30 p.m. The concert will run from 4 to 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, available in advance on the Brown Paper Tickets website, brownpapertickets.com, or purchased in-person at Hanalei Strings, Scotty’s Music, Larry’s Music and Talk Story Bookstore.
• Info: artskauai.org
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
