LIHU‘E — Following its opening Friday at Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort, the 7th annual Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival continues Saturday at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach, and Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Kukui Grove Center.
“This is the first year that the festivals will be presented at two venues — the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach, and the Kukui Grove Center,” said Melissa McFerrin Warrack, the Kukui Grove manager of Marketing &Specialty Leasing.
The Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach event will include steel guitar performances by Hawaiian steel guitar masters, such as Alan Akana, Malie Lyman, Bobby Ingano, Greg Sadinha, and more. School visitations, workshops, kanikapila jam sessions for play along, or listening enjoyment, and open stage sessions where amateur Hawaiian Steel Guitarists, called NexGen Steel Guitarists, present their own programs to festival guests.
A vintage steel guitar exhibit and hands-on opportunities for festival guests to learn more about, and experience the Hawaiian steel guitar is also a part of the festival.
Moving to Kukui Grove Center on Sunday, a ho‘olaule‘a concert will be presented as well as feature performances by Hawaiian steel guitar masters. The Kukui Grove event will also include hands-on opportunities for festival guests.
The Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival is presented free to the public by Hawai‘i Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences in association with Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music.
Major sponsors for the event include Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Laurence Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation and John Pearse Strings, which supports the NexGen steel guitarists by providing steel guitar strings and accessories at no cost.
Information: kauaisteelguitarfestival.com.
