The 2024 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience Information

The 2024 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience featuring the Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival, was held at the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, on Thursday through Sunday, November 21-24, 2024.

The Experience began on Thursday, November 21, with school visitations and performances at the resort. The Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival's ho‘olaule‘a concert was held on Friday, November 22, followed by a public kanikapila. The hotel's monthly Twilight at Kalāhuipua‘a program featuring the Hawaiian steel guitar was on Saturday, November 23, and included performances by festival artists and NextGen steel guitarists. A Sunday brunch entertainment and kanikapila was offered on the lawn of the HāLani Restaurant.

In addition to the main concert and the resort's Twilight at Kalāhuipua‘a cultural program, the 2024 experience also included school visits, workshops, Open Stage performances, a vintage steel guitar exhibit, and hands-on opportunities for festival guests.

Featured performers included Alan Akaka, Kapono Lopes, Mālie Lyman, Devin Nakahara, Ed Punua, Konabob Stoffer, Dwight Tokumoto, and Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz.

Both Friday's main concert and Saturday's Open Stage Performance were livestreamed on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

The festival was presented free to the public by the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection and the Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) in association with the Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music, with grants and support from corporate partners, and private donors. Support was also provided in part by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and by the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation.