Australian visitors to Hawaii jumped 25% in 2010 and most now are young, hip and looking for new musical horizons as well as swaying hips and gorgeous sunsets. Aside from its native music styles of slack key guitar (profiled in Rhythms June 2010), ukulele stylings, reggae-driven Jawaiian, steel guitar melodies, hapa-haole hula and falsetto singing, there’s also an underground of rock, hip hop, indie, pop and dance.
Though Honolulu resembles Miami and nearby Waikiki is like the Gold Coast, several islands are just 15-30 minutes away and a world apart from the cosmopolitan island of Oahu where you land. If you can, take an overnight (nine-hour) flight to Honolulu (Hawaiian Airlines operates with two 32 kilo bags per person allowance) arriving early on the same day and then hop quickly interisland to experience Maui, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai or the Big Island of Hawaii where the volcano is as accessible as a drive through attraction can be.
You can start to decompress and save the wild shopping and turgid nightlife for your last couple of days and nights in Honolulu, or better the North side of Oahu, to experience monster surf in winter or lush landscapes and long beaches the rest of the year.
A handy resource to start off your trip is the Hawaii Tourism Authority based in Sydney for easy access. For hotel bookings, I’ve found wotif.com and priceline.com great resources for low prices from reliable chains like Aqua, Outrigger and Aston, often offering free Internet and parking.
There is excellent public transport across and around Oahu (The Bus for only $5 a day), but you’ll need a car to find the hidden treasures. I highly recommend Alamo, booked through local agent Momento Travel (1 300 300 713) or res@momentotravel.com.au) whose Silver Inclusive rate covers all taxes, fees and insurance at very low rates.
My best advice on accommodation is to get a condo rather than a hotel on the outer isles, giving you privacy, cooking and many other facilities without the intrusion of maids, noisy kids, valet parking fees and overflowing pools. I’ve used Sunquest Hawaii for decades whose cost savings and convenience are substantial. You’ll find others through HTA and online.
As to special places to stay, I’m happy to share. Maui’s magic village of Paia has Mama’s Fish House with beachside cottages and garden studios and a stellar restaurant with a 20% discount. Also in Maui is the family-run Old Wailuku Inn, a quaint B&B in a residential area that is safe, clean and homey.
On the top end of the Big Island, there’s an alluring village called Hawi, which has a gorgeous, cliffside property called Hawaii Island Retreat that is both a spa and spiritually healing place. On the opposite side of the island outside of Hilo is the seaside Palms Cliff House, an upmarket B&B with spectacular views.
On the lush green isle of Kauai are the Waimea Plantation Cottages where old-style wooden bungalows are stretched out on verdant lawns leading to a stunning beach.
With wheels and a home base, it’s time to uncover some tropical music treasures. Hawaii is a land of festivals and the two best involve guitars and ukuleles. While the uke has soared in popularity over the past couple of years, Hawaiian slack key guitar music has several decades of history with champions such as Ry Cooder (Chicken Skin Music) and smooth jazz/new age Windham Hill Records head George Winston creating a label for the genre called Dancing Cat Records.
Slack key guitar festivals alternate between June and November for the past few decades over all the islands and feature the stars of the genre such as John Keawe, Ledward Kaapana, Sonny Lim and Keola Beamer from the Big Island, the sons of originator Gabby Pahinui from Oahu, Kauai’s Cindy Combs and Maui’s multi-Grammy
Award winner George Kahumoku Jr.
George is a treaure who also hosts a weekly Masters of Slack Key evening concert in the covered, open-air venue at Napili Kai Beach Resort ten miles North of Lahaina, outlined at http://slackkey.com/faq.php and not to be missed if on Maui.
Since 1971, ukulele teacher and guru Roy Sakuma has staged the annual Ukulele Festival in Waikiki’s Kapiolani Park. It features the style’s stars like Jake Shimabukuro as well as duos, groups and entire schools with luminaries from Japan, China and Europe. The next one is set for July 22, 2012.
There are also festivals and events for steel guitar music and falsetto singing which are unique music forms and if you want to experience the brilliance of true Hawaiian chant, song and traditional music, watch out for any shows with Keali’I Reichel who is an electrifying performer and the superstar of island music.
Another true Hawaii must-see artist is Hapa, a two-man dynamo led by guitarist Barry Flanagan who plays around the islands, mainly in Oahu. The music is heart-stirring and contemporary yet retains the essence of Hawaiian tradition.
Local gig guides cover all genres in the convenient street press of Honolulu Weekly and Maui Time as well as the Friday TGIF liftout of the state paper Star Advocate. But the longest running resource for Hawaiian music gigs is the site mele.com serving as an online store for local CDs.
While top level touring artists usually hit the Blaisdell Arena and Concert Hall as well as Aloha Stadium in Oahu, a special outdoor venue is the Waikiki Shell for local fests and bigger names. Diamond Head Crater is also turned into an outdoor venue with Craterfest a regular occurrence.
For Maui clubs, Stella Blues Café in the resort town of Kihei is the hot draw with a jam and local artist bookings mix supplemented by imaginative dinner shows. Charley’s (www.charleysmaui.com) in Paia is part-owned by Willie Nelson who often plays there, sometimes with his kids or with small touring acts in a bar that rivals Australian venues for its lively crowd. Hot Maui acts to see are The Throwdowns and guitar kid whiz Vince Esquire.
If I had to recommend one Honolulu venue it would be Chai’s Island Bistro in the Aloha Tower where there are other more raucous band bars. Chai’s is a casual dinner club with excellent food, great iconic acts and a smooth ambience. The Cazimero Brothers, Makaha Sons and Sistah Robi shine here.
In Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach has the Kani Ka Pila Grille from 5:30-8:30 every evening with all local stars. Hot acts to catch here are the Pahinui Brothers and Kamuela Kahoano. Other top Oahu artists include Pimpbot on the punk side, rockers Henry Kapono and John Cruz plus reggae-tinged The Green often performing with singer songwriter Anuhea.
Over in Kona on the Big Island, Huggo’s is oceanside and does small concerts but ‘da bomb’ is Kona Brewing Company which, in addition to their great beers also has staggering pizzas made with the spent grains from the brewpub.
Head over to Phil’s Phave Places at www.philtripp.com where you’ll find exhaustive info on Kona, Hilo and Maui as well as Honolulu.
By Phil Tripp
# Hawaii #