2016 Festival Information

The 2016 Festival will be held at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel on April 15-17, 2016. Open Stage performances will be held on Friday and Saturday beginning mid-morning and going through early afternoon. Evening Ho‘olaule‘a programs and public Jam Sessions will be presented on both Friday and Saturday nights. The lineup of featured performers will be posted here and on the festival's Facebook page as soon as it is finalized.

Saturday Workshops will be given on various musical and cultural topics of interest, including Steel Guitar Instruction, 'Ukulele Instruction, Slack Key, Recording Methods, Playing Techniques, Hula, Hawaiian Style Singing and Lei Making. Information about the workshops will be posted when it becomes available.

Public "kanikapila" jam sessions will be held on Friday and Saturday nights and hosted by the master steel guitar players. Everyone is invited to participate and play along with the featured players and festival guest musicians. Musicians are advised to bring their own amplifiers and music stands if required.

Open Stage sessions will be presented on both Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 3:00. These sessions will feature steel guitar players from the United States and abroad in half-hour playing sessions. All available playing sessions for this year's festival have been subscribed.

The world-famous Ka'anapali Beach Hotel's Sunday Brunch will feature entertainment by festival entertainers.

Other festival features include lobby entertainment by Joel Katz and a display of vintage steel guitars courtesy of Geri Valdriz. Festival T-shirts will be available for purchase at the festival information booth, as well as artists' CDs and the festival poster. Festival posters autographed by all of the featured steel guitarists will be given free to any donation of $25 or more.

School visitations are a very important part of the Festival not commonly seen by the general public. Presentations are made by festival teams comprising some master players, students, and other musicians. These teams, upon invitation, travel to various Maui schools at all levels from elementary to high school and present an educational and musical program that introduces attendees to the Hawaiian Steel Guitar. At the end of the presentation, attendees are invited to ask questions and try out the steel guitar if they desire. Shown here: 2014 school visitation to Kamehameha III School.