🌺🎸Album of the Week: Aloha No Nā Kūpuna (Love for the Elders) — George Kuo Slack Key Guitar Exclusive to our Hawaiian slack‑key community: In this video, George “talks story” about the kūpuna who shaped his kī hōʻalu (slack‑key) journey—Ray Kāne, Sonny Chillingworth, ʻAtta Isaacs, Eddie Kamae, Gabby Pahinui, Barney Isaacs, Antone Gabriel, and Uncle Fred Punahoa—then performs “KHBC” from his first solo album. He shares how he started playing in the 1970s, learned directly from the greats, and w

🌺 Experience one of the most soulful expressions of Hawaiian slack key guitar with “Liloa’s Mele” by the legendary Sonny Chillingworth. This piece captures the deep roots of Hawaiian storytelling through music — a mele (chant or song) that honors Ali‘i nui Līloa, a 15th-century high chief of Hawai‘i Island, remembered for his wisdom, leadership, and aloha spirit. Sonny’s playing blends intricate kī hō‘alu (slack key) tunings with heartfelt phrasing, evoking the sound of the islands, the rustle

Watch as Slack-key legend Keola Beamer breathes fresh life into the classic mele “Kalena Kai” 🤙 “Kalena Kai” began life as a royal chant attributed to King Liholiho (Kamehameha II) around 1820, expressing thanks to the people of Waialua for their hospitality. Nearly a century later, in what published songbooks date to about 1916, composer Charles E. King fitted those verses with the graceful melody that is still sung and played today, bringing the piece into the modern repertoire. The lyric pai