Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 8, 1 August 2014 — Unamplified singing at its sweetest [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Unamplified singing at its sweetest

Ka Himeni 'Ana amateur contest continues nahenahe tradition

By Lynn Cook On Saturday, Aug. 23, the 30th annual Ka Himeni 'Ana music competition will be held at the Hawai'i Theatre. The concert honors both the singing tradition and the man who helped keep it alive. The tradition is nahenahe, unamplified singing. The man who loved it was the late Richard M. īowill. Unamplified music is nearly a foreign phrase to recent generations of Hawaiian music lovers. īowill remembered it from his "small-kid" days on Kaua'i. During the holiday season, the neighbors would all pile into an open touring car and ride around the neighborhood singing what they called nahenahe music - no boom box, no microphone, only sweet voices and a guitar or two, serenading everyone who listened. Graduated fromPunahou School, MIT and the U.S. Air Force, īowill returned to Hawai'i and joined his dad at the R.M. īowill Corp. in Honolulu. They engineered mas-

sive projects including Honolulu Airport's reef runway. Young īowill always missed the nahenahe music of his youth, so 30 years ago he created a contest to bring it back to the mainstream. He called it Ka Himeni 'Ana. The Legacy Award honoring the senior īowill will be celebrated with entertainment by past winners, including 1983 winners, Waikahe, the first group to win. The group comprised Misty Kelai, Jodi Reeves, Suzanne Ka'upu, Leslie Santos, Helen Ka'upu, Linda Nahulu, Lisanne Ka'upu and Nola Nahulu, now a judge for the eompetition. The goal of the contest was to encourage more Hawaiian music. The rules were simple. No microphones. Two to five singing members in a group, at least half playing unamplified guitars, 'uku-

lele or bass. The exception is a small amplifier for a steel guitar. The fact that the acoustics in the Hawai'i Theatre are nearly perfect is a lucky break for every group. The winners receive cash awards of $1,200 for first plaee, $800 for second and $600 for third. The first-place group also wins a gig at the Kani Kapila Grille at Outrigger Reef on the Beach in Waiklkl. Past winners have included wellknown recording artists Holunape, Ho'okena, Pilioha and Ku'uipo Kumukahi. For folks who perform, the concert is a challenge in the laek of amplification. For those who just like to sing, it is a different kind of experience. Father and son Greg and Grant make up the Kono 'Ohana of Kailua. Says son Grant Kono, "We went to the concert onee, listened and agreed that, 'Eh, we like playing music.' " He says, a year later when it was time to enter they decided they weren't busy that day and signed up. After two third-place wins and a

fifth plaee they are expanding their music power by bringing in Grant's sister, Chloe. The Kono men only practiced "sometimes." With their sister, the practice is almost daily. The concert is now organized by son Rick īowill, with his wife, Crystal, with some assistance from the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Thanks to the Towills, what is amplified at the concert is the sense of smell. White ginger blossoms have been the concert's signature flower for three decades. On the morning of the show, over 500 stalks of white ginger are harvested fromthe valley behind the īowill home. The stalks fill containers, wrapped in kapa paper, all across the stage. They heeome a farewell gift to audience members after the show. The list of judges reads like who's who in Hawaiian music, often creating a nervous moment or two for the entrants. Nina Keali'iwahamana, award-winning star of Hawai'i Calls and the Monarch Room of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel; Nola Nahulu, music educa-

tor, choral director and member of the first group to win Ka Himeni 'Ana; and Haunani Apoliona, OHA trustee and performer with Olomana; and Aaron Mahi, musieian and a 20-plus year former bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band. The evening opens with a rare treat. Legendary musician Mahi Beamer will play the vintage 1922 Robert Morton organ onee used to accompany silent films. Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awardwinning recording artist, kumu hula and cultural specialist Manu Boyd emcees the show, making it a bit like listening in on a very loeal conversation. "Just saying ..." punctuates every intro, giving the audience an insider's look at Hawai'i's world of music plus a running commentary on the aloha fashions of the singing groups. He gets the biggest laughs when he asks, "Who are you wearing?" ■

Lynn Cook i.s a loeal freelance journalist sharing the arts and culture ofHawai'i with a glohal auāienee.

30th annual Ka Himeni 'Ana

Where: Hawai'i Theatre When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 Cost: $20 or $30 plus $3 restoration fee Tlckets: 528-5535, hawaii theatre.com orthe boxoffice, 1130 Bethel St. in Honolulu

Pictured on stage in 201 2, Nō Wōhine '0 Honoapi'ilani incorporated Hawaiian instruments in its performance: ipu (gourd), 'ili'ili (small stones) and ka la'au (wooden sticks). - Courtesy: Ka Himeni 'Ana