Past Festivals

Special Guest Owana Kaʻōhelelani Salazar from Hawaii!

Once again Steel Guitar players and admirers alike attended this annual gathering where members showcase their musicianship, teach each other, jam, and listen to world class Hawaiian Steel guitar.

Open to the public! Student discounts! Saturday Workshops & Luau!

This was the third year that the conference is being held in Colorado at the Hilton Hotel in Fort Collins. Fort Collins is home of Colorado State University and the gateway to the northern Rocky Mountains. A beautiful backdrop for three days of musicianship, fun and steel! Saturday featured stage performances by our talented HSGA members all day, along with fabulous informative workshops (included in ticket price) and an evening luau!

---

29th Annual HSGA Steel Guitar Festival
Oct 1-3, 2015 at the Hilton Fort Collins, Colorado

Special conference guest DUKE KALEOLANI CHING…. and the return of the Saturday night luau. For the past 28 years, HSGA has held an annual gathering where members showcase their musicianship, teach each other, jam, and listen to world class Hawaiian Steel guitar. The festival was open to the public. This is the second year that the conference will be held in Colorado at the Hilton Hotel in Fort Collins. Fort Collins is home of Colorado State University and the gateway to the northern Rocky Mountains. A beautiful backdrop for three days of musicianship, fun and steel!

---

2015 HSGA Honolulu Convention
April 29-30

---

HSGA Steel Guitar Concert Thursday, May 1 at the
Annual Lei Festival in Kapi’olani Park in Waikiki!

HSGA Outdoor Tent Stage adjoining the Lei Contest Winners Display Area
Thursday, May 1, 2014
10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Local and visiting musicians and dancers perform live Hawaiian music with steel guitar and hula, complimenting the main stage all-day entertainment at Kapi’olani Park Bandstand.

The Lei Festival is sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu.

---

28th Annual HSGA Steel Guitar Festival
Oct 23-25, 2014  – Fort Collins, Colorado

---

27th Annual HSGA Steel Guitar Festival
October 3 – 5, 2013

This is the 27th annual Joliet convention and the final year that the event will take place in Joliet. This year’s honored guest is Ed Punua from Kauai (left). On Saturday we’ll again present a number of teaching seminars for Hawaiian steel guitar and ‘ukulele, including Ed Punua’s master Hawaiian steel class, beginning and intermediate steel guitar seminars presented by HSGA experts, and Terry Truhart’s beginning and intermediate ‘ukulele. These seminars are free and open to anyone who pays the Saturday festival fee.

More photos from Joliet! These were contributed by Kamaka Tom.

The 27th time we’ve all gathered to enjoy the music and fellowship will probably be Joliet’s final year. We had a great turn out and a fun time! Here are some photos from the event. For captions and to comment on the photos and even supply your own, visit the Joliet facebook page! While you’re at it, please join the new HSGA facebook page! The photos were supplied by Chris Kennison, Judy Van Sickle Maierhofer and Mark Prucha.

HSGA member, Kay Koster, who is hospitalized and was unable to join us this year, received a standing ovation at the October convention for her contributions in Steel Guitar. Kay received the Jerry Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award at Scotty’s in St. Louis last month. Congratulations, Kay! We really missed you this year! Love, your friends at HSGA.

Here is Kay in 1952 and again in 2008 entertaining convention-goers on her teacher’s guitar.

---

Hawaiian Steel Guitar at Waikiki Beach
Saturday, July 20th, 2013!

Waikiki Beach Walk^{® presents
the Fourth Annual Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival}

Saturday, July 20, 2013, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza Lawn and Stage

An afternoon dedicated to the Hawaiian Steel Guitar with some of
today’s greatest steel guitarists together with the next generation of artists as
they gather to celebrate the signature sound of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar.

Performers included Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Casey Olsen, Bobby Ingano and
Jeff Au Hoy, the Abrigo ‘Ohana and students from Ke Kula Mele Hawaii.
Please spread the word to all Hawaiian Steel Lovers!

---

June 2013
View these videos from HSGA’s Lei Day 2013 Concert on Olelo.net
Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3
| Video 4 | Video 5 | Video 6 | Video 8 (Video 7 seems to be missing)

---

March 2013
View three wonderful videos from HSGA’s Lei Day 2012 Concert on Olelo.net
Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3

---

March 2013
HSGA Honolulu Waikiki Convention

---

The Fifth Annual Maui Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival
April 19-21, 2013

At the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel in Ka’anapali, Maui.
This educational festival, presented by the Arts Education for Children Group
(AECG) is designed to promote appreciation and interest in the Hawaiian Steel
Guitar. The free, 3-day event will featured workshops, cultural seminars, and
entertainment by Hawaiian steel guitar legends Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha,
Bobby Ingano and Maui’s Geri Valdriz and Ross Ka’a’a. Festival participants will
be invited to join the masters in nightly traditional “kanikapila” sessions. A
Saturday evening ho’olaulea will feature Maui Hawaiian Steel Guitar players,
visiting Master players, hula dancers, and various guest artists. Saturday
workshop participants will also be invited to participate in the kanikapila and
jam with the masters.

---

Honolulu Convention in 2013
April 29 through Thursday, May 2nd

HSGA once again reserved the Peacock Room of the Queen Kapi’olani Hotel for Monday, April 29 through Thursday, May 2nd. These will most likely be the 2013 HSGA Honolulu Convention dates, with daytime sessions and luncheon in the Peacock Room from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Right now Thursday is an optional day pending sufficient interest and pre-registration.

Wednesday, May 1st would have our sessions at the Annual Lei Day Festival in Kapi’olani Park, across the street from the Queen Kapi’olani Hotel.

Several Hawaiian steel guitar-related awards banquets may be scheduled during the week of the Honolulu Convention. This includes the “Lei of Stars” evening event on May 1st sponsored by the Hawai’i Music Hall of Fame and the Annual Legends of Steel Concert luncheon and concert sponsored by the Maiki Aiu Foundation. Both of these organizations have websites that may list these events and information.

Please feel free to contact me prior to making your air and hotel arrangements and for the latest info. on our upcoming 2013 HSGA Honolulu Convention activities.

Kamaka Tom

---

October 2012

Greeting music lovers!! Japan’s Sweet Hollywaiians are on tour in California and looking forward to seeing you! Based in Osaka, Japan, these musicians feature Hawaiian, Swing, Ragtime, Blues, Calypso and Italian from the 1920s~1930s. Enjoy the music of long forgotten legends like Sol Ho’opi’i, King Bennie Nawahi, Roy Smeck and Eddie Lang!
This string quartet contains a dozen string instruments including Hawaiian steel guitar, banjo, tipple, ukulele, mandolin, a bass and guitars.

Oct 16 8:05 PM at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA

Oct 18 8:00 PM at Hip Kitty Jazz in Claremont, CA

Oct 19 8:00 PM at Boulevard Music in Culver City, CA

Oct 21 7:30 PM at Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, CA

View some videos on YouTube

---

July 2012

Lanet Abrigo writes…

The Abrigo ‘Ohana has just returned from a trip to Winchester, IN for the celebration of steel guitar known as the Aloha International Steel Guitar Convention. We were delighted to help out with a variety of tasks during the program. In addition to being the featured guest artists, Emily taught hula and led the dancers at the luau show, Timi and friends introduced everyone to Hawaiian slack key and ukulele picking styles and Quinn had a great time assisting the MC with his program, and also enjoyed helping Frank Della-Penna with his performance. We also had the pleasure of hosting their first kanikapila! Many AISGC members are also members of HSGA, so we thought we’d share this video for everyone to enjoy. It will also be aired on Olelo TV as part of our “Kanikapila 2012” series.

---

April 2012

Alan Akaka writes…

It’s a banner year for the steel guitar with a handful of events coming up:

April 20-22 Henry Kaleialoha Allen Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival, Kaanapali, Maui
May 1 May Day Festival, Kapiolani Park

May 6 Legends of Hawaiian Steel Guitar, Pacific Beach Hotel
May 13 World record attempt for the largest Hawaiian Steel Guitar ensemble, Windward Mall, Kaneohe
June 17 Waikiki Beach Walk Hawaiian Steel Guitar Hoolaulea, Waikiki

“Make HISTORY on May 13, 2012!”

Join Alan Akaka on Sunday, May 13, 2012 at the Windward Mall for an attempt to set a world record for the largest Hawaiian steel guitar ensemble.

The group will be performing Nani Waimea together with the students of Ke Kula Mele. Practice mp3s and tabs available. For more information or to sign up as a participant go to http://www.hawaiiansteelguitarworldrecord.com

All participating guitarists will play the entire arrangement except for a section that has been designated for individual ad lib solos. This section will be repeated for as many times as there are solo players. And yes, Alan encourages you to do a solo!

Our Hawaiian steel guitar community can make a huge impact through this event. LET US BE SEEN AND HEARD!

---

June 2011
Annual Joliet Convention Dates and Guest Announced from Don Weber and Wally Pfeifer

Don’t miss this year’s Annual Joliet Convention, October 6-8, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Joliet, Illinois. The Guest of Honor, direct from Hawaii, is none other than Greg Sardinha.

---

April 2011

Legends of Steel Concert Announced from Isaac Akuna
Saturday, May 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am • Pacific Beach Hotel Grand Ballroom Waikiki

Doors fling open at about 10:15am with guests being greeted by Wayne Shishido on steel backed up by Haa Heyer, Henry Makua, and Danny Kiaha… followed by a set by Isaac Akuna.

After a short break, the program will begin with a performance of the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Glee club under the direction of Aaron Mahi. They are going to be backed up by a quartet consisting of Isaac Akuna, Kimo Artis, Dennis Keohokalole, and Bryan Tolentino.

Following this, Harry B. Soria will take our guests on a historical musical journey beginning with the man himself, Joseph Kekuku, outlining his life and contributions to the musical industry.

This will be followed by a performance from Greg Sardinha. We will proceed down the list of honorees and live performances: Sol Hoopi’i (Eddie Palama), Dick McIntire (Steve Cheney), Rogers’ Ohana (Timi Abrigo), Jerry Byrd (Paul Kim) and lastly, David Keli’i (Casey Olsen). Casey will close the show with our lovely Kuuipo Kumukahi.

In a break from steel guitar concerts of the past, we will be having an informal jam session immediately after the concert with folks jamming in the foyer of the ballroom. Thanks to our friends as HSGA, people will be able to play, sing, dance or just hang out.

Tickets are $60, which includes Brunch and Performance. For tickets, call the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts office 808-593-9424 or 808-356-8732.
Bryson Ramos is the administrator for the academy and he is coordinating ticket sales.

Don’t miss this memorable event!

---

March 2011

Tune in to Pakele Live on March 10
HSGA President Paul Kim will be performing live on the internet on Thursday, Mar. 10 from 6pm-8pm Hawai`i standard time. The show is called Pakele Live and is broadcast from the Willows Restaurant near the University of Hawai`i. Visit www.pakelelive.com for more info…

---

February 2011

2011 Biennial Honolulu Waikiki Convention

---

August 2010

Just Released… Attention Hawaiian Steel Guitar fans and friends…

Bobby Ingano’s
new CD is out on Kuli’ou’ou records...

Entitled STEEL’N LOVE, it is a fun mix of Hawaiian, swing, some originals,
and even a couple of blues numbers. To order, check out the CD’s website @ http://www.steelnlove.com and click on the “Contact Me” link.

Mahalo Nui for the support,
Bobby Ingano and Mark Amundson

---

July 2010

Newly Elected…
Elections for the HSGA Board of Directors were held this spring. The following Board of Directors was instated during the July 18th Board meeting.

Re-elected Directors:
President: Paul Kim
Members: Terry Miller, Chris Kennison, Pete Kahele, Ivan Reddington.
Japan Coordinator: Tom Tohma
Recording Secretary: Frank Della-Penna
Editor-in-Chief: John Ely

Incoming Directors:
Vice President: Gerald Ross
Secretary/Treasurer: Kamaka Tom
Members: Mike Scott and Ian Ufton

Congratulations, everyone and thank you to all members who submitted ballots for this election.

---

June 2010

Just Released…

Attention Hawaiian Steel Guitar fans and friends…

Just released by Keala Records and produced by Greg Sardinha is “Hula Island Style II”. The CD features Hiram Olsen, Casey Olsen and Dennis Keohokalole.

Casey and Hiram are the featured guest artists at the HSGA Joliet Convention in October.

The new CD will be available for sale at the convention.
See you all there. Get your registrations in now.
-Wally Pfeifer

April 2010

Joliet Guests of Honor Announced

The Joliet convention is October 7-9, 2010 and this year we have a double-barreled treat for you — not one, but two Honored Guests. Two of the greatest names in Hawaiian music will be on stage in Joliet, Casey and Hiram Olsen!! It doesn’t get any better than that.

Casey was a student of Jerry Byrd, and is the last member of the “Byrd’s Nest” to appear in
Joliet. Casey’s dad, Hiram Olsen, was a long, long time friend and fellow musician; you just
didn’t see Jerry without Hiram backing him up, and that’s how Jerry wanted it. There will be a lot
to talk about when Casey and Hiram join us for the guests annual “talk story.”

---

April 2010
Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival on Maui – April 23-25

The second annual Henry Kaleialoha Allen Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival is being held Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25 at Kaanapali Beach Hotel on Maui and features free workshops and performances by some of the greats: Henry Kaleialoha Allen, Alan Akaka & the Islanders, Duke Ching, “Lion” Kobayashi, and more.

The festival was created in 2003 by a nonprofit organization, Arts Education for Children Group (AECG), to provide opportunities for students to study and play alongside accomplished instructors. It includes classes and workshops that are open to musicians and vocalists of all ages and skill levels.

For a complete schedule, visit www.aecg.org or www.henrykallen.com.

 

Calling all ukulele enthusiasts…

Texas Swing with Aloha! is the theme for this year’s fun-filled Lonestar Ukulele Festival and Music Camp. The 3-Day Ukefest will take place on
April 29, 30, and May 1, 2010 in
Dallas, Texas.

The line-up of talented performers and teachers this year is AMAZING! HSGA member Gerald Ross will be featured, as well as other talented artists including James Hill, Kimo Hussey, Debbie Porter, Pops Bayless, Mark “Spanky” Gutierez, Ukulele Bartt and Dennis McBride… along with special guest appearances by The Wahooligans & more!

A portion of proceeds from the festival will be used to start a “Ukes In The Classroom” program in the North Texas Area! Brought to you by UkeLadyMusic and Dallas Ukulele Headquarters. For updates, workshop listings, and registration information, visit the event website at lonestarukefest.com

---

Email Safety

Scams 101. Have you recently received an email that appears to be from an HSGA member in need of money for a trip back home or some other strange emergency? This is a common type of scam in which hackers gain access to someone’s email address book (or more recently, Facebook account) and send messages to all of his or her contacts. One of our members has recently found himself the victim of this scam and his friends are receiving emails of this nature. The best course of action is to delete the email immediately.

---

Feb 2010

2010 HSGA Board of Director Elections
HSGA Board of Directors elections are underway for the 2010-2012 term. A mail-in ballot is included in your Winter 2010 HSGA Quarterly. Please fill in your choices and mail in your ballot by March 15, 2010. Sorry, no online ballots will be accepted.

View all of the candidates’ statements here. Note: Because Board nominee Frank Della-Penna was on vacation, we were not able to print his bio in the Winter newsletter but it is included on the web page version.

Website Management Changing Hands
By decision of the Board of Directors, the HSGA website will now be maintained by HSGA friend, Amy Pace. Amy has many years of experience designing and maintaining websites (view her work at amylynpace.com)

---

April 2009
2009 Joliet
Convention and Guest of Honor Announced…
We look forward to this year’s convention with special guest steeler John Ely.
See the Upcoming Conventions page for more info.