Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week incorporates nightly performances Monday through Friday with the Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival's Saturday ho‘olaule‘a. The event is presented each year by the Royal Hawaiian Center and produced by HIMELE™ (Hawai‘i Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences). This week-long celebration of the Hawaiian steel guitar brings together legendary steel guitarists and keiki NextGen steel guitarists in nightly presentations at the Royal Grove Stage and culminates in a festival ho‘olaule‘a pageant on Saturday. This annual event is presented to heighten awareness of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar and its importance in Hawaiian music and culture.
Alan Akaka, renowned Hawaiian steel guitarist, music teacher and Chairman of the Board of HIMELE, says, "It's an honor and joy for all of us in the steel guitar community to participate in the Festival and we hope that both visitors and kama‘aina will join us."
Now located at the Royal Grove entertainment venue in the heart of the Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week honors what was once the playground of Hawaiian royalty by offering a program of Hawaiian music and dance that is easily accessed by Waikīkī pedestrian traffic and center visitors.
All Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week events are free and open to the public. These include nightly hour-long programs from Monday through Friday, and morning and afternoon programs on Saturday featuring multiple steel guitar masters. Vintage steel guitars are exhibited in Helumoa Hale, with steel guitar experts on hand to answer questions. Parking is available at the Royal Hawaiian Center parking garage. Standard parking rates apply. Validated parking is available with $10 purchase from any center merchant. The Saturday program will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
The Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week is one of a series of annual Hawaiian Steel Guitar festivals and other events produced by the Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) and its partners.
All festivals are presented to increase awareness and foster interest in the Hawaiian Steel Guitar, an instrument important to Hawaiian music and culture. All these festivals are free and open to the public and made possible through grant awards and donations from Hawai‘i State agencies, corporate sponsors and private individuals, supplemented by in-kind contributions and volunteer resources. Please visit HIMELE's website to see how you can help support our festivals.
The 2023 Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week will once again feature nightly one-hour performances on Monday through Thursday, July 10-13, 2023, beginning at 5:30 P.M. Each night will feature performances by a different steel guitar master or steel guitar ensemble including the NextGen steel guitarists and musicians from Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music.
Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i NextGen steel guitarists including Isabella Bertelmann, Makamae Lyu-Napoleon, Pono Fernandez, Joey Misailidis, Tai Misailidis, and Mālie Lyman, will be featured, accompanied by Alan Akaka on guitar.
The 2nd annual Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival will occur on Friday, July 14, 2023, beginning at 4:00 P.M. and feature steel guitarists from Japan. The festival will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
The 5th Annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week will culminate in the 13th Annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival on Saturday, July 15, 2023, with morning and afternoon programs. The program will include popular Hawaiian steel guitarists troughout the week and on Saturday. Saturday's festival performances (both programs) will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week is free and open to the public. Parking will be available at the Royal Hawaiian Center parking garage. Standard parking rates apply with validated parking available with $10 purchase from any center merchant.
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Statewide Festivals
Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival
Maui Steel Guitar Festival
Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week
Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival
Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival
Kona Steel Guitar Festival
Community Festivals
Ka Makana Ali‘i - Kapolei
Windward Mall - Kane‘ohe
Kahala Mall - Wai‘alae-Kāhala
Livestream Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase