Maui Arts & Entertainment

Maui has four hālau competing in the 2024 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, as the event’s competition kicks off this evening at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Tonight’s competition features 13 women vying for the title of Miss Aloha Hula 2024. Maui entrants include: Shayla Angeline Kamalei Ballesteros and Amedée Kauakohemālamalama Conley-Kapoi.

Maui Public Art Corps will host a public blessing and unveiling of a large-scale mural on the exterior of Ceramic Tile Plus & Exclusively Yours, at the intersection of Kahului Beach Road and Ka’ahumanu Avenue, facing Harbor Lights and Kahului Harbor, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6.

The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua will host singer/songwriter Gretchen Rhodes for a special unplugged concert from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) has announced that Hawai‘i’s fourth youth poet laureate presentations and selection of the state’s 2024 Youth Poet Laureate will be presented before a live, invitation-only student audience in Castle Theater on Thursday, April 4 at 10 a.m.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center presents multi-faceted singer/songwriter A.J. Croce in concert with his band in Castle Theater Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 pm. The concert is in celebration of two of his father Jim Croce’s legendary albums, “Life and Times” and “I Got A Name” in addition to songs from “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” He and the band will also share some of A.J’s own tunes and songs that influenced both him and his father.

Inspired by the devastation of the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, Makawao artist and gallery owner Jordanne Perkins picked up her brushes and painted her Lahaina Strong Series — 45 paintings in 52 days to honor Lahaina residents and memories of their historic town.

Fresh off its Spring Showcase, Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) has invited 48 student short films to be presented at its first-ever ‘Ōpio Fest. The students represent 33 different schools from O’ahu, Kaua’i, Maui, Lana’i, Big Island—and two from Alaska.

Maui Public Art Corps is introducing Little Free Art Galleries in Makawao town as a way to foster community through art. 

The Jazz Maui 2024 Maui Music Series presents the 25th Annual King Kekaulike High School Spring Concert, on Thursday, April 11, in the Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The concert spotlights the Kekaulike Wind Ensemble and Kekaulike Choir along with Nā Ali’i Big Band featuring special guest saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa along Kāʻanapali Beach has announced the launch of Nashville Nights, a once-a-month songwriter’s series featuring a lineup of talented artists from Music City. The series takes place over the next six months and features a unique opportunity for guests to experience the magic behind the music. The inaugural show is scheduled for April 27, 2024, with performances by artists Gracee Shriver and Noel Bisesti.

Showmakers, Inc. presents The Super American Circus in 2024 in Hawaiʻi.  This modern one-ring circus will showcase some of the best acts in the world in the Big Circus Tent on Maui in Makawao, 523 Olinda Road on March 29, 30 and 31, 2024.

Queen Kaʻahumanu Center will be hosting an Easter Egg Scramble at Center Court for the second year on Saturday, March 30, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Merwin Conservancy’s Green Room series returns with composer and sound artist Leilehua Lanzilotti on Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 6 p.m. in the McCoy Studio Theater.

The public is invited to the March installment of the free, monthly Hawaiian Music Series which will feature a special performance by Deason Baybayan. The free concert will be held  at 6 p.m. on March 28, at Hale Hoʻikeʻike at the Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center presents a free community concert featuring the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. in the Castle Theater. The He Leo Aloha No Maui Concert will also feature guest performances by Kamaka Kukona and Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua, Nāpua Silva and Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka o Uka, and Ikaika Blackburn, Halehaku Seabury, and Keoni Souza of Nā Hoa.

Renowned Hawaiian musician Weldon Kekauoha will headline the upcoming Music Showcase on Friday, March 29 at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua as part of the 32nd annual Celebration of the Arts event.

A list of local artists have been added to the lineup for the upcoming “98 Degrees & Friends: Restoration of the Heart of Maui Fundraising Concert,” taking place Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 6 p.m. the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

A World Peace Event concert takes place this Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. at the historic ʻĪao Theater in Wailuku. The event features the music of slack key master Jeff Peterson and Tibetan flautist Nawang Khechog with the 3D film Tibetan Illusion Destroyer by Maui’s own Emmy Award filmmaker Dr. Tom Vendetti.

Haʻikū filmmaker Ryan Luskin’s film “The Sailing Movie” is scheduled for public release this fall. “The Sailing Movie” is the tale of Luskin’s son Saelyn and his right of passage, as he sails with his parents through 16 countries in search of “six essential life skills to thrive on a quickly changing planet.” While the bulk of the project was shot in 2013 in the Caribbean, crucial segments were filmed more recently on Maui.

This year, Melecraft will offer Maui youth a weekend workshop in the heart of Kahului, April 12 and 13, 2024 teaching aspiring artists how to create quality music through an authentic, holistic artistry approach, while learning critical industry skills that empower self-awareness, healthy expression, executive thinking and resilience.