Ho‘o‘pi‘i Brothers, Kahumoku Jr. Honored with Nā Hōkū Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Richard Ho‘opi‘i (seated) and sons Rick (center) and Kai (right) Ho‘opi‘i, with George Kahumoku Jr. (left). Courtesy photo.

By Maui Now Staff

The Ho‘o‘pi‘i Brothers and George Kahumoku Jr. earned 2015.Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards.

The Ho‘o‘pi‘i Brothers, Richard and his late brother Soloman, received a 2015 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award at a Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts ceremony on May 3, 2015.

Richard, his wife Ululani, Hoʻopiʻi family members, and George and Nancy

Richard Ho‘opi‘i ohana halau who performed with Richard at the Lifetime
Achievement Awards. Courtesy photo.

Kahumoku Jr. attended the awards event at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Richard presented a falsetto performance at the event accompanied his Maui ʻohana–his daughters, nieces and granddaughters, who performed lovely hula in their matching pink Hawaiian fashions.

George Kahumoku Jr. and his Slack Key show ‘Ohana include (left to right) Garrett Probst, Peter deAquino, George Kahumoku Jr., Wanani Kealoha and Sterling Seaton. Courtesy photo.Peter deAquino, George Kahumoku Jr., Wanani Kealoha, Sterling Seaton)
George Kahumoku Jr’s “What’s New?” Courtesy photo.

The Ho‘o‘pi‘i Brothers, from Kahakuloa Village on Maui, are known worldwide for their soaring falsetto voices. They received the National Endowment for the Arts Folk Heritage Fellowship and were named the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards Group of the Year in 1997.

Although Sol passed away in 2006, Richard continues to perform and tour.

Many other Hawaiian artists were also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, including the multi-talented Kenneth Makuakāne, who will perform at Kahumoku’s Slack Key Show at Napili Kai Beach Resort on Wednesday, July 22.

Since the early 1980s, Makuakāne has been a part of Hawai‘iʻs musical landscape as a recording artist, composer, producer and engineer. He  is a 14-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner, who performed and produced with many well-known
Hawaiian artists. His catalog of compositions exceeds 1,500.

The 2015 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards presentations are scheduled for Saturday, May 23, at the Hawai‘i Convention Center in Honolulu.

George is nominated for Slack Key Album of the Year “Seeds of Aloha” CD, and Richard, for Male Vocalist of the Year and Hawaiian Music Album of the Year, “The Timeless Voice” CD.

George’s Grammy Award-winning Slack Key Show, Masters of Hawaiian Music, will now be presented once a week–every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Napili Kai Beach Resort’s Aloha Pavilion.

The show hosts guest Hawaiian masters each week, including Richard and many other Hawaiian artists. George also tours with Richard, Led Kaʻapana and other artists. These concerts and their recordings bring the spirit of aloha to their many Hawaiian music fans.

For more information about Slack Key Show, Masters of Hawaiian Music, visit SlackKeyShow.com and Kahumoku.com. Performance videos are also available online.