Event Info

The steel guitar gala formerly popularized as the Waikiki Steel Guitar Festival is now a week-long event known as Waikiki Steel Guitar Week. This event is presented each year by the Royal Hawaiian Center in collaboration with HIMELE (Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences). The week-long celebration of the Hawaiian steel guitar brings together legendary steel guitarists and keiki steel guitar students in nightly presentations at the Royal Grove Stage and culminates in a two-day festival ho'olaule'a pageant. 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, Waikiki 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 Waikiki pedestrian traffic and center visitors.

All Waikiki Steel Guitar Week events are free and open to the public. These include nightly hour-long programs from Monday through Thursday, and 3½ hour programs on Friday and Saturday evenings 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.

Waikiki Steel Guitar Week is made possible through a partnership with the Royal Hawaiian Center and supplemented by volunteer resources. This program is supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaii and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Please visit HIMELE's website to see how you can help support this and other HIMELE steel guitar festivals.

The 2019 Waikiki Steel Guitar Week

The 2019 Waikiki Steel Guitar Week will once again feature nightly one-hour performances on Monday through Thursday beginning at 6 P.M. Each night will feature performances by a different steel guitar master or steel guitar ensemble including the Next Generation steel guitarists and musicians.

The 3^rd Annual Waikiki Steel Guitar Week will culminate in the 10^th Annual Waikiki Steel Guitar Festival on Friday and Saturday evenings. The 2019 lineup will feature popular Hawaiian Steel Guitar masters along with Next Generation steel guitar students of the Ke Kula Mele Hawaii School of Hawaiian Music. The week's featured steel guitar masters and artists may include Next Generation steel guitarists and musicians from Ke Kula Mele Hawaii School of Hawaiian Music, Alan Akaka and The Islanders, Bobby Ingano, Greg Sardinha, Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz, and other popular steel guitarists in individual programs of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music and dance.

Ke Kula Mele Hawaii Next Generation steel guitar students Pono Fernandez, Joey Misailidis, Malie Lyman and Next Generation musician Tai Misailidis, and others may also perform, accompanied by Alan Akaka and Addison Ching on guitars. The list of performing artists will be listed when the program is finalized.

Waikiki Steel Guitar Week is free and open to the public. Parking is 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 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