Entertainment

Keola Beamer pays tribute to Lahaina with new single

Legendary musician to perform Saturday at the MACC

Set to perform alongside Henry Kapono and Jerry Santos at a special "Home in the Islands" concert Saturday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Hawaiian music legend Keola Beamer recently paid homage to his hometown with his newly released song "Lahaina Ola Hou."

Rooted in personal remembrance, he sang about quiet evenings in old Lahaina before the 2023 fire, sitting beneath the banyan tree, watching the sun disappear into the sea, reminding us that "You can tell everybody that we are still around and the voices of our kūpuna carry us on."

"I put my heart into that one," said Beamer. "There was really a loss of people that I knew and loved. It was just a really hard time for us. So that song came from trying to deal with my own grief, in my own recovery, and it turned into a song that I thought maybe would be helpful for other people's grief and recovery. It was hard to write."

A winner of multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, Beamer initially resisted composing a remembrance song.

"I couldn't touch it for three years," he explained. "It's just so emotional for me. Every time I think about writing something, I just reach for a box of Kleenex and call it a day. Then I finally got to where I could kind of hold it in my hands a little bit, and then it just poured out."

A longtime Lahaina resident, Beamer and his wife, Moanalani Beamer, were able to safely evacuate when fire destroyed much of the town. Their home was saved, while parts of Wahikuli were severely damaged and destroyed.

Hoping his new song provides some solace, he said, "After three years, all us survivors needed a bit of a lift. We were kind of beat down and tired of dealing with it, and tired of the issues that come up, and wish you could just go to Pizza Hut again."

Beamer eventually felt it was time to survey the town's destruction and drive down Front Street. "It's kind of heavy on the heart," he said. "It still hurts to see the loss. You expect to be inspired or hopeful, but it still breaks your heart."

Recorded in Honolulu at Island Sound Studios, Beamer said the musicians "didn't even want to be paid because they felt so much aloha for me and mostly Lahaina. They thought that this would be a way to kind of help. So much aloha. It was wonderful."

The video for the song was shot at Moku'ula, where King Kamehameha III had a royal residence. "We went to Moku'ula to give a ho'okupu, a traditional Hawaiian offering," he said. "To honor our 'ohana and our kūpuna who take care of that place, and our community leaders."

"Lahaina Ola Hou," marks his first new single in 16 years.

"I got involved in a bunch of nonprofit stuff over those years," he said. "I was really working quite hard in the community and in heart projects. Now we've got 56 acres in the Big Island (the historic Kuamoʻo Battlefield and burial grounds) to preserve for perpetuity, so Hawaiians can visit and understand their history there. It's an amazing battlefield that always hits you."

Recently returning from a trip to Bali as part of the Mohala Hou Foundation's mission to help spread aloha around the world through the World Ukulele Program, the Beamers, with Jeff Peterson and filmmaker Tom Vendetti, previously donated ukuleles to underprivileged children in Cambodia, Sikkim and Bhutan.

"We're trying to figure out the direction of the program," he said. "I was doing some albums with other artists and a compilation. But to sit down and write a single specifically, I haven't done that in a while."

Looking forward to playing at the MACC's Castle Theater, Beamer said, "I've played all over the world, and that's one of my favorites. Also, I can sleep in my bed that night. I love working with Henry. We've developed a wonderful friendship over the last 10 years, and we've been touring together on the mainland for at least that long. Jerry Santos and I were roommates in boarding school. We've been dear friends ever since."

The "Home in the Islands" concert will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the MACC's Castle Theater. A portion of the proceeds will benefit hurricane relief via The Hawaii Island Food Basket. Patrons who bring donations will be entered into a drawing to win a signed show poster and have a meet-and-greet with the artists. Tickets are $39, $59, $79 and $129 for VIP. More information is available at mauiarts.org.