HIMELE Announces 2024 Festival Schedule

January 18, 2024 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

HIMELE will present a total of nine Hawaiian steel guitar festivals statewide during 2024.

The first festival of 2024 will be the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Ka Makana Ali‘i on Saturday, February 17. The festival concert will feature five veteran steel guitarists and eight NextGen keiki steel guitarists, including three who will be performing for the first time. The event will begin at 11 AM.

The Kona Steel Guitar Festival will be held on April 4-6, at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa in Keauhou on Hawai‘i Island. This multi-day event will feature school visits, Open Stage performances, a main concert, public kanikapila, workshops, a steel guitar exhibit, and hands-on opportunities for guests wanting to learn more about the steel guitar. The festival immediately precedes the 2024 Aloha Music Camp and offers camp participants an opportunity to extend their musical experience prior to the camp.

An abbreviated Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival will be presented at the Kukui Grove Center in Lihue on Saturday, May 11. The full festival normally presented at the Sheraton Coconut Beach Resort will be deferred until 2025.

The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Windward Mall will be held at the indoor stage on June 8.

Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week will be July 8-13, with nightly one-hour concerts on Monday through Thursday. The Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival, featuring steel guitarists from Japan, will be presented on Friday, July 12, and the Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival will be presented on Saturday, July 13.

The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival-Keiki Kine at Kahala Mall will be presented on Saturday, August 17 and feature NextGen steel guitarists exclusively.

An abbreviated Maui Steel Guitar Festival will be held on Saturday, October 19, at The Shops At Wailea. HIMELE feels that a smaller event is appropriate as the wildfire rebuilding efforts continue on the island. HIMELE hopes to offer a full multi-day festival in 2025, with the festival returning to its original venue, the Outrigger Ka‘anapali Beach Resort.

The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Experience at Mauna Lani is planned for December, with an actual date to be announced later.

Livestreaming of festival concerts has been scaled back and will include ho‘olaule‘a concerts from this year's Kona Steel Guitar Festival, Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival, and Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival.