Can You Hear “The Green” Coming?

The Green event poster.

By Maui Now Staff

“Can you hear The Green coming?”  That’s the phrase that was dropped about a week ago on local Maui radio as fans caught wind of a possible return of The Green to the Valley Isle.

The catch phrase is a throwback to the group’s first track What Will Be Will Be, on their self-titled debut album in 2010 that began with the shout, Can you hear The Green coming?

The rumblings were confirmed last night via an online post by on-air radio personality Kawikaveeka of Native 92.5 FM on his Kawikaveeka.com website.

The post places The Green right back on Maui at 7 p.m. on September 18, at The Millhouse on the grounds of the Maui Tropical Plantation for a 21 and over party and concert.

The Green is hot off the West Coast leg of their Count Me In Summer Tour with Rebelution, Iration, Stick Figure, and DJ Mackle, that included 14 shows in 17 days.

Prior to that, The Green served as the opening act for the sold-out Hawaiʻi concerts featuring Bruno Mars in April.

Amid their touring schedule, The Green also took home three top honors at the 2014 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards in Hawaiʻi, the list of which included: Reggae Album of the Year, Group of the Year, and Favorite Entertainer of the Year Awards for their “Hawai’i ’13″ album.

Their “Hawaiian style” and “dub roots reggae” sound has resulted in accolades that also include: Album of the Year in The 2013 Pier Awards; AllMusic’s Favorite Reggae Albums of 2013; and Albums Of The Year: 2013 RudeboyReggae.com Awards; and their Number 1 iTunes and Billboard release, “Ways & Means.”

The last time The Green performed on Maui was as the headliner of the Winter Mele concert held on Jan. 18, 2014, also at the Maui Tropical Plantation.

The group’s origins spawned over a decade ago as members Caleb Keolanui and his cousin J.P. Kennedy took stage as one half of the island pop reggae group The Next Generation. Zion Thompson and Ikaika Antone complete The Green’s core four members who take the microphone to perform an all original catalog of melodies. Rounding out the group is bassist, Brad “BW” Watanabe and Jordan Espinoza on drums. Together their presence on stage carries the torch for island reggae music from Hawai’i. The essence of their message of amped-up aloha is as broad as the band’s name itself: The Green.

***Native 92.5 FM, KLHI, is part of the six station lineup at Pacific Media Group-Maui, which is also the parent company of Maui Now.