BY MEGAN MOSELEY

staff writer

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the islands, Da Playground music venue owners Brandon and Myline Dahle had a vision to bring Maui’s underground music scene back to life.

“We wanted to give these guys a chance to play on a real stage, with professional sound,” Brandon Dahle said.

The Dahles moved to Maui in 2017 from Las Vegas and bought a cocktail bar in Kihei called Ambrosia VIBE bar, located in the popular Triangle district. During their time of operation, they witnessed firsthand the skills of local Maui musicians.

“The reason why we opened Da Playground is because of all the talented artists that would play at our little 600 square foot bar called Vibe, and we would have music every night of the week. We would have a lot of artists going there playing and there was just so much talent going in there, and here they are playing for $200,” he said.

They had just finished remodeling and reinvigorating the space when the pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to Maui business owners, leaving the Dahles with a difficult decision – focus either on their current business, or invest full-time in bringing the vision of Da Playground to life. They chose the latter.

Now Da Playground provides up and coming artists a professional place to perform and open for popular acts like Jamaican DJ Yellowman, or upcoming shows happening this weekend with Inna Vision and Mike Love.

Other than the Maui Arts & Cultural center, Dahle said Maui was lacking a space like Da Playground.

“There was no real middle ground – no other venue to really bring artists out,” he said.

In their first year, they had 300 shows and are upward in the thousands now, turning the Las Vegas’ couples heartfelt goal into a reality.

“When we moved out here we wanted to give back to the community and have a place where everyone could come together and have the artists get recognized and maybe open for someone like Collie Buddz and next thing you know they’re touring with Collie Buddz,” he said.

The space is located near the Maui Ocean Center at the Maalaea Harbor, and was designed with all the elements needed to put on a good show, he said. From professional lighting and sound to a VIP section and large bar, the Dahles said they couldn’t be happier with how the venue turned out.

“It was really cool to see people walk in for the first time and their mouths just drop and the first thing they did was grab their phones and start filming everything in there,” he said.

Aaron Tillak is an employee at Da Playground and said his favorite part is the community aspect and the diversity that the venue offers Maui.

“In one week we might have three or four completely different events, bringing people from all over the world together to one special place and allowing for memories to be shared and created. Maui is beyond special and Da Playground was created for local people to enjoy themselves and unwind. It’s been great to watch it evolve each year,” he said.

The Dahles said they hope the business continues to expand and possibly grow into another larger location.

“Specifically for Da Playground, we are excited because we’ve never really had a chance to operate without some kind of crazy adversity,” he said.

Between the pandemic and the Lahaina tragedy, they’ve had to adjust alongside the community and hope to continue to spread the love of music on Maui.

“We’re excited to be able to bring shows to you with what we’re doing now and just knowing that in the future we’ll be able to add more shows and more artists and hopefully doing what we’re still doing now and be open four or five days a week with all quality shows all the time,” he said.

For more information about Da Playground visit daplaygroundmaui.com or check them out in person at 300 Maalaea Rd Suite IC, Wailuku, HI 96793.