Maui Arts & Entertainment

Slack Key ‘Ohana’s latest album “Hawaiian Cowboy,” impressively lassoed the No. 1 spot of the iTunes world music albums chart upon its release last Friday.

When Maui was hit by a devastating fire last August, the nation collectively grieved. For singer and songwriter Lily Meola, who was born and raised on Maui, the heartbreak ran deep. So, she did what she does best—poured her pain and feelings into song. Initially revealed in a rare live performance on her Instagram account, “Hope in the Ashes,” is now available everywhere you get your music with all proceeds from the song being donated to the Maui Food Bank.

The Kani Kūola Music Festival commences Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the Ka‘a‘i‘ike Building on the UHMC campus.

Oʻahu’s own Tumua, is bringing his national “Warrior Tour” to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater on Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m.

Seabury Hall’s choral ensembles are inviting popular music lovers to experience a “journey through the timeless tunes of the past” during an April 20 performance of “Radio Rewind Live: A pops choral concert.” The event starts at 7 p.m. at the ʻAʻaliʻikūhonua Creative Arts Center at the private school in Makawao.

The next Hawaiian Music Series of 2024 will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Hale Hoʻikeʻike at the Bailey House in Wailuku. The free event will feature well-known local musicians Wilson Kanakaʻole and Jarret Roback.

Hawaiian Airlines May Day 2024 presented by Mele continues the annual Lei Day tradition by the Brothers Cazimero with Keauhou, the 19-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning group, returning to headline the concert experience alongside special guests, including Maui’s own Kamalei Kawaʻa, Robert Cazimero and Hālau Nā Kamalei o Līlīlehua.

A Ram Dass Maui Legacy Sunday Satsang Concert celebrating Lei Day will intertwine lineages and cultures, Aloha & Bhakti, and feature musicians with close connections to Indian and Hawaiian music-styles and cultures. The event will take place at the Napili Kai Beach Resort’s Aloha Pavilion on Sunday, April 28, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Seabury Hall is presenting “A Pop Celebration,” a Spring Music Ensembles Concert featuring music students of Seabury Hall on April 12.

Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Tracie and Keawe Lopes of Oʻahu took the overall title at the 61st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival, in Hilo Hawaiʻi. The men of Mauiʻs Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi took home third place awards for kāne kahiko and ‘auana performances, as well as the festival’s third place overall award for men. In the women’s division, Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka earned a tie for fifth place in the wahine kahiko division.

ProArts Playhouse, Maui, has announced an event-packed two months, from musical performances and tributes to classic rock legends to aerial dances and comedy shows.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) is opening a new exhibition that showcases work of one of the most significant artists to contribute to the movements of Dada and Surrealism in the development of modern art in the past century, Max Ernst.

After a hiatus due to COVID-19 closures, the East Maui Taro Festival is back to showcase the best of Hawaiian culture, cuisine, and the community of Hāna, Maui. The 28th event returns on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hāna Ballpark.

Hawai‘i’s fourth Youth Poet Laureate designation was presented to Miya Peterson, a high school senior at O‘ahu’s Punahou School, during a live stream event at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Thursday.

Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes was named Miss Aloha Hula 2024 at the 61st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival on Thursday night at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Maui’s own Amedée Kauakohemālamalama Conley-Kapoi of  Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Haunani and ʻIliahi Paredes was the first runner up.

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.