Country artists head to Maui for a Songwriters Festival
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A bunch of country artists will perform on Maui at the 2024 No Ka 'Oi Songwriters Festival taking place Nov. 7 to 9 in Wailea and Kihei, with a lineup that includes Randy Houser, Brad Warren, Jared Keim, Kassi Ashton, Josh Phillips, Jeffrey Steele, Jessi Alexander and Preston Cooper, plus Lukas Nelson and Maui's Derick Sebastian.
Hailed by Billboard as a "golden-voiced Mississippi native," multi-platinum artist Houser previously performed at the BMI Maui Songwriters Festival.
Recently releasing the song, "The Worst," with Justin More, Houser's hits include "How Country Feels," "Runnin' Outta Moonlight," "Like A Cowboy," "We Went" and "Goodnight Kiss."
Houser felt destined to sing country music from an early age. "From the time I was about 5 years old, I knew what I wanted to do," he said in a previous interview with The Maui News. "I knew I was going to make music. I've never really spent a minute on anything else."
In 2019, Houser released the album "Magnolia." Gifted with a soulful, emotive voice, on songs like "No Good Place to Cry," you could imagine a soul great like the late Otis Redding covering it.
"Otis Redding was a big influence," he said. "I learned a lot from listening to Otis' records."
In May, he teamed with T. Graham Brown to cover Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay."
Reviewing "Magnolia," Sounds Like Nashville noted: "With hints of Mississippi blues and distinct country swagger, 'Magnolia' further cements why Houser is deemed one of country music's most esteemed vocalists."
And Saving Country Music praised: "Randy Houser may have put out one of the best country records you'll hear from a major label all year."
He followed up with "Note to Self" in 2022. "Picking up where 'Magnolia' left off by affording more quality in the songwriting, more soul in the vocals, and more country in the sounds, 'Note To Self' is one of mainstream country's better releases of 2022," praised Saving Country Music.
Among his credits, he sang on the Waylon Jennings' tribute album "Music Inside," backed by Jennings' band, he contributed backing vocals to Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real's "Turn Off the News, Build a Garden," and he toured with Willie Nelson. "My biggest influence and my biggest hero is Willie Nelson," he reported. "He's turned out to be a friend. My biggest hero turned out to be the coolest hero. I'm honored."
As an actor, Houser appeared in Martin Scorsese's acclaimed film "Killers of the Flower Moon," as well as in "The Hill," starring Dennis Quaid.
The No Ka 'Oi Songwriters Festival opens on Nov. 7 with a free "Barmuda Triangle Bar Hop" in Kihei, starting at 4 p.m. at Three's Bar & Grill, then Kahale's at 5, the South Shore Tiki Lounge at 6, and South Maui Gardens at 7.
The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort will host a concert in the Molokini Garden beginning on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. General admission is $25, and a VIP table for 8 is available for $500 (includes a meet and greet). There is a special valet parking rate for $15. Music continues on Nov. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Grand Wailea's Botero Lounge with no cover. It will be recorded live for Storme Warren's Exit 209 podcast, on the Big 615 radio station. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Lele Aloha foundation and the Maui Family YMCA music program.