Maui Beat

West Maui gets the blues

Willie K’s annual BBQ Bluesfest to feature range of talent in Lahaina

Willie K is moving his annual BBQ Bluesfest to Lahaina this year. The fifth annual event will feature Eric Sardinas and Big Motor, Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, Kapena, Larry Dupio, Kings of Spade, and of course, Willie and The Warehouse Blues Band with special guests Mick Fleetwood, Tavana and Gretchen Rhodes.

Returning to his Lahaina roots where he began his music career, Willie was inspired to present a three-day event after performing at a similar festival in Colorado.

"The whole town got involved with the blues fest so I decided to do the same for Lahaina," he explains. "That's my roots. That's where it all started for me. We're turning Lahaina town into the blues capital of the Pacific. I'm really excited."

Admiring the work of the headliners Castro and Sardinas, Willie knows Castro from his time living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"He was the new kid on the block and then when I came back to Maui he became the blues guy," he said. "And Eric Sardinas is really good with the slide guitar. He reminds me of a wild Willie K on slide guitar."

Blues magazine noted: "Castro is famed for his signature brand of tough, rocking rhythm and blues, thrilling fans around the world with his incendiary live performances." And Rocktopia praised Sardinas' "raucous good-time blues/rock, stunning guitar work and bourbon-soaked voice." Maui Beat will feature interviews with Castro and Sardinas on March 23.

The main concert will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. March 25 at the Lahaina Civic Center. Other events include a free show presented by LahainaTown Action Committee on March 23 under the Banyan Tree with the Lahainaluna Hawaii Club, the Deborah Vial Band and the Mike Carroll Blues Band. A party with the headliners will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 24 at Fleetwood's on Front St.

Heading out on the road soon, Willie is looking forward to recording some new songs with the Warehouse Blues Band. "We're going to take a few days off in California and get on the ball with new rocking blues music," he says.

* The Fifth Annual Uncle Willie K's BBQ Bluesfest will be presented March 23 to 25. Tickets for the Lahaina Civic Center concert are $40 for adults, or $10 for kids 5 to 11 years old. Tickets for the Fleetwood's event range from $50 for basic rooftop video live feed to $300 for a restaurant-level "Meet and Greet" package. For reservations, visit www.williekbluesfest.com. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Lahainaluna Parent Teacher Student Association. Blankets and low-back chairs are allowed at the Civic Center. No outside food or beverages, and no cameras will be allowed. There are designated handicap and kupuna seating areas.

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Kalani Pe'a still can't quite believe he's a Grammy Award winner. When Pe'a was honored in February for his marvelous debut album, "E Walea," which won in the Best Regional Roots category, it marked the first time a Hawaiian artist had won the category since it was created in 2012.

"Everywhere I go people congratulate me," he says. "I still pinch myself. I tell myself, 'Am I still in a dream?.' I'm so humbled by all the love and support. I didn't know winning a Grammy would be an inspiration for others. Hard work pays off and can be recognized."

A Hawaiian resource coordinator at Kamehameha Schools Maui who also created curriculum for students on Kauai, Pe'a is thrilled that he can "entertain and educate through Hawaiian music and language. What is the poetry behind my music? What do the lyrics mean to you? That's the best experience for me beyond winning that gold and wearing the maile lei and wearing my Burberry prescription glasses because I was crying and overwhelmed. Some people thought I was blind. 'Poor thing, Hawaiian boy, so talented, poor thing he's blind.' They thought I pulled a Ray Charles or a Steve Wonder."

The Grammy ceremony provided an opportunity for him to network and share his music "with engineers and producers of Adele, Beyonce and Drake, and indie artists like White Sun, who won the New Age album. I tell people my music is Hawaiian contemporary soul. I learned so much. I feel so grateful."

With doors opening and show offers continuing, he's looking forward to a Japan tour and concerts in Louisiana with fellow Regional Roots Grammy nominees, as well as concerts on the West Coast and East Coast.

Facing so many opportunities since his Grammy win, Pe'a is at a crossroads, wondering, " 'What do I do? Do I become a full-time musician and follow my passion, or can I do both?' I can still teach through music."

Having scaled one mountain as a Grammy winner, Pe'a is assumedly a major contender for multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. Nominations will be announced in April.

"I'm so nervous," he says. "It's my first time. I hope to be nominated. It will be a blessing."

Pe'a will be among the musicians performing at the 30th annual Ho'omau fundraiser for the Punana Leo O Maui Hawaiian Language Immersion Preschool on March 25 at the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens in Kahului.

The day will include Hawaiian music and hula, food, crafts made in Hawaii, Hawaiian plants, a silent auction and fun for the keiki. Artists participating include Hui Makua o Punana Leo, Na Hoa Matagi Halau, Kekuaokala'au'ala'iliahi, Na Wai Eha, Josh Tatofi, Kaumakaiwa and Kekuhi Kanaka'ole.

A variety of cultural practitioners will be present with demonstrations of lomilomi and la'aulapa'au by Friends of Hale Ho'olana and Bula Logan. Jocelyn Costa and Clair Apana will present a genealogy workshop and Kue petition. There will be net making by Jimmy Saganawit, lei making by June Ka'aihue and traditional tatau by Keli'i Makua.

* Doors open for the 30th annual Ho'omau fundraiser at 9 a.m. and gates close at sunset March 25. Tickets are $15 presale and $20 at the door. Children 10 years old and younger are admitted free. For more information, including where to purchase tickets, visit www.hoomau.com.

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The sold-out Sing Out For Sight concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday abounded with highlights from Joan Baez's impassioned version of John Lennon's "Imagine" and Kris Kristofferson joining her for his signature "Me and Bobby McGee," to Krishna Das' rollicking take on "Jesus on the Mainline," and Jackson Browne gathering all the musicians for "The Pretender" paean to idealism.

Making her Maui debut, activist icon Baez was showered with love, opening and closing her set to standing ovations. And Browne, joined by virtuoso lap steel guitarist Greg Leisz, enchanted all with some of his most beloved songs.

* The event was a benefit for the Seva Foundation, which has helped restore sight to millions of impoverished people. Co-founder Dr. Larry Brilliant announced that each ticket sold would pay for at least one cataract surgery somewhere in the world.

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Praised by Sounds Like Nashville as "one of country music's most impressive headline acts," Kip Moore makes his Maui debut in the Castle Theater on March 18.

Known as the Bruce Springsteen of country music, Moore released his debut album, "Up All Night," in 2012, which included the No. 1 single "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck."

Great American Country noted that the widely praised Moore "carries a unique sound that fits somewhere between ramblin' man storytelling, hook-driven contemporary country and atmospheric blue-collar rock."

Moore's second album, "Wild Ones," in 2015, received positive reviews. AllMusic proclaimed: "He's effectively evoked the feel and aesthetic of mid-'80s heartland rock, and if that doesn't necessarily make him a wild one, it does make him a rebel of sorts."

In October, Moore released "Underground," a five-track collection that Rolling Stone said "strikes the defiant tone that's been a part of his artistry."

* Kip Moore will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 18 at the MACC's Castle Theater. Tickets are $29.50, $39.50 and $49.50 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org. Prices increase the day of the show.