WAIKIKI BEACH WALK
JUNE SUNDAY SHOWCASE
June 7 – Steve Lucas & Friends (Jazz)
Steve Lucas together with several other Jazz loving musicians will open June’s Sunday Showcase weekly series. Lucas is an accomplished musician who has performed with some of Hawaii's best musicians as well as with wonderful mainland artists. His musical career started at an early age. He was merely fifteen years old when he became the band leader of a group named “Casuals of Waikiki.” His group performed as the opening act for various concerts with the Tom Moffat Productions and K-Poi radio station. An accomplished guitarist, singer and entertainer, his career spans over 47 years. Lucas currently appears on the Pride of America cruise ship and other local venues,
June 14 – Halau Hula O Nawahine (Halau/Hawaiian)
This talented Hula Halau first graced the stage at Waikiki Beach Walk in March of this year. Halau Hula O Nawahine began in 1983 and the hula style comes from the late Aunty Bella Richards of Kailua where their hula lineage reaches to the island of Hawaii. This Halau is located in Kaneohe and Japan under the tutelage of Kumu Hula Marlene Nawahine Haili Kuraoka. The Halau actively continues to generously share their hula performances at venues across the State of Hawaii, Japan and the mainland.
June 21 – Waipuna and the Waipuna Dancers (Hawaiian)
Waipuna is an exciting collaboration of two talented individuals in Matt Sproat and Kale Hannahs. After many years on the Hawaiian music circuit, these two Kamehameha School graduates first performed together during a Japan tour in October 2007 with Kumu Hula Noelani Chang. Since then, they have performed together on many stages ranging from Waikiki to Japan. Sproat and Hannahs’ eclectic musical background and similar tastes in music has led to the development of a unique sound that draws comparisons to their name, Waipuna, or spring water. Just like a mountain spring, this talented duo provides a new and refreshing sound that fills the senses and captures the mind.
JUNE – NA MELE NO NA PUA CONCERT
June 28 – Na Mele No Na Pua Concert featuring Natalie Ai Kamauu, 4 pm
Na Hoku Hano Hano award winning artist-Female Vocalist of the year Natalie Ai Kamauu, is June’s Na Mele No Na Pua featured performer. Daughter of Howard and Olana Ai, founders of one of the largest hula schools in Hawaii, Halau Hula Olana, Ms. Ai Kamauu has been an intricate part of the Halau as a dancer, musician, and vocalist. Her soulful image is reflected through her musical writing as she collaborates with her husband Iolani Kamauu in co-writing six of the titles on her newest album. Her voice soars effortlessly along melody lines, taking you to the places she sings about, introducing you to the people she honors, drawing you towards the perfumed flowers she loves. Aside from her musical abilities, Natalie Ai Kamauu accolades also include capturing the title of Miss Aloha Hula at The Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in 1990, co-creator of Keko Records LLC and Female Vocalist of the Year 2006 by The Hawaii Academy of Recording Artists.