Tradition of talent

May 5, 2016

In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Maui Classical Music Festival, organizers will present a series of concerts culminating in a grand finale May 13 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center."We are very excited about this year's anniversary celebration with our finale concert on the stage of the Castle Theater," says festival co-founder Katherine Collier. "We are bringing back some of our favorite performers as well as having several wonderful new musicians."For a number of years, the festival has presented concerts in some of our historic churches. Opening on Friday at the ...

Chaka Khan

April 28, 2016

Four decades after Chaka Khan launched her solo career with her smash hit "I'm Every Woman," the Queen of Funk is back with a new dance track, "House of Love," which sees her teaming for the first time with her siblings, sister Taka Boom and brother Mark Stevens.Khan and her siblings debuted the track at a Coachella music festival event April 14. With its party-primed chorus, and remixes planned by Deee-Lite's DJ Dmitry, Yousef, Split Secs and Tripmastaz, the song could bring her new chart success.In February, she released the new single, "I Love Myself," which features lyrics ...

Rolling out the hits

April 21, 2016

Acclaimed for hits like "Watching You," "Take a Back Road" and "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)," country star Rodney Atkins says there's no special formula to his songs' success."I try to find songs that I can relate to, songs about going through a struggle, or making a mistake, or just being human," he explains. " 'Watching You' is about making a mistake in front of your kids and trying to do the best you can. 'Back Road' is about being in a bad place and pushing through it. 'If You're Going Through Hell' is obviously about a struggle. One of my favorite ...

Steel Guitar masters unite for annual Maui festival

April 14, 2016

The eighth annual Maui Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival is Friday through Sunday at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. This free event will feature master Hawaiian steel guitar players from around the world performing the only string instrument thought to be indigenous to Hawaii.Headliners this year include Alan Akaka, Jeff Au Hoy, Bobby Ingano, Japan's Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi, Patti Maxine from California, Owana Salazar, Greg Sardinha, Dwight Tokumoto, and Maui steel guitarists Sam Ako, Joel Katz and Geri Valdriz."I'm glad we can help perpetuate the Hawaiian steel guitar," says Akaka, the son ...

Girls Guns and Glory

April 7, 2016

If the car radio hadn't died in the beat-up Oldsmobile of Girls Guns and Glory founder Ward Hayden, he might not have discovered the seminal music of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, which would change his life."I had an Oldsmobile Delta 88 and my mom had a huge cassette tape collection, people like Dolly Parton, Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Williams, and she lent me tapes for my drive to school," Hayden recalls. "The first tape I borrowed was Johnny Cash's 'Greatest Hits' and it altered the course of my life. I fell in love with the sound."Starting as a solo artist, in time Hayden would form ...

Spanish inspiration

March 31, 2016

What do Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Chick Corea and Deep Purple have in common with Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo? The jazz and rock legends all referenced Rodrigo's masterpiece, the magnificent "Concierto de Aranjuez" for classical guitar and orchestra."It's a legendary piece for every guitar player," says renowned classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery, who will perform "Concierto" with the Maui Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Robert E. Wills, at the Historic Iao Theater in Wailuku on Saturday and Sunday."It's probably the most popular concerto for any instrument in the 20th century," ...