Steel Guitar Festival Returns to Kahala Mall

May 23, 2022 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

A Hawaiian steel guitar festival featuring NextGen steel guitar students of Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music will be presented on August 11, 2022, at the Kahala Mall, beginning at 3 PM at the mall's center stage.

As with other Hawaiian steel guitar festivals, the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall was paused during the pandemic.

The festival wil feature some NextGen steel guitarists that have appeared at other festivals as well as a few newcomers who will make their festival debut.

Paniolo performance from 2019 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall. pc-Don Touchi

As with other festivals, the Kahala Mall event will be livestreamed on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's Facebook page and YouTube Channel.

Theresa Tam Sing, the mall's Marketing Coordinator, said, "We are bringing back events and performances! I'm happy for you folks to come back to Kahala Mall!"

The Kahala Mall festival is the only one of its kind to exclusively feature youth steel guitar players. This is done to demonstrate that the steel guitar can be studied by musicians of any age, and also acts to attract youth musicians who might otherwise not be familiar with the instrument or know how to acquire training on the steel guitar.

Past classroom demonstrations have shown that many of today's youth do not know what a steel guitar is or why it is important in Hawaiian music and culture. Many recognize the sound but don't know how that sound is made or what instrument is responsible for that sound.

A hands-on demonstration experience will also be available at the festival. This experience is designed to acquaint festival guests with the instrument and show them how it's played.

Breezy Ridge® Instruments, Ltd. and John Pearse® Strings provides merchandise support to the NextGen steel guitarists.