Event Info

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.

• The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festivals are produced by HIMELE and presented in collaboration with the Windward Mall, Ka Makani Ali‘i, and Kahala Mall shopping centers.
• The Maui Steel Guitar Festival is held in the spring on Maui.
• The Kaua‘i Steel Guitar Festival is held each Spring with HIMELE partnering with the Sheraton Hotel Coconut Beach Resort in Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i.
• The Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival is presented in the November-December timeframe in collaboration with the Mauna Lani Auberge Resorts Collection on Hawai‘i Island.
• The Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival and the Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival are now incorporated into the annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week and presented each July on the Royal Grove stage at the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī in parnership with the Royal Hawaiian Center.
• The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase presents periodic livestreamed Hawaiian steel guitar entertainment on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.

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 2022 Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week

The 2022 Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week will once again feature nightly one-hour performances on Monday through Thursday, July 11-14, 2022, 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.

The inaugural presentation of the Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival will occur on Friday, July 15, 2022, beginning at 4:00 P.M. and featuring steel guitarists from Japan. This festival will be dedicated to and presented in the honor of Japanese steel guitarist Tadashi Arakawa, one of the Japan-based event planners, who passed away earlier this year.

The 4^th Annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week will culminate in the 12^th Annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival on Saturday, July 16, 2022, with morning and afternoon programs. The program is currently undergoing development but will include popular Hawaiian steel guitarists troughout the week and on Saturday. Saturday's festival performances will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i NextGen steel guitarists Pono Fernandez, Joey Misailidis, Tai Misailidis, Enosa Lyman, and Mālie Lyman, will also be featured, accompanied by Alan Akaka on guitar.

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.

Festival Information From Previous Festivals and Events

• The 2021 Festival - Event Info
• The 2020 Festival - Event Info – Event canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic
• The 2019 Festival - Event Info
• The 2018 Festival - Event Info
• The 2017 Festival - Event Info
• The 2016 Festival - Festival Info
• The 2015 Festival - Festival Info
• The 2014 Festival - Festival Info
• The 2013 Festival - Festival Info