Whoa, what an experience. It was a true honor to be invited to be the sole Hawaiian slack key guitar performer on the bill and to share the stage with such incredible musicians. What fun!
Margo Reola opened the show with I Miss You, My Hawaiʻi and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Margo hasn't graduated from high school yet and has the voice of an angel. Unbelievable. The Reola ʻohana were so kind and so musically talented.
I played Kuʻu Ipo Onaona, Molokaʻi Sweet Home and ʻOpihi Moemoe. The nearly sold out New Hampshire crowd was warm and full of aloha. I got to meet all kinds of great people from Maine to Maui to Connecicut to New Hampshire.
If you guys have the opportunity to see Hōkū Zuttermeister (website) along with the Mākaha Sons (website), don't miss it. Musicianship and entertainment to the max. No surprise from the Sons who have been at it for 31 years but Hōkū is the real deal. By the time he finished his set with the Sons, the crowd was on their feet. I'd point out highlights but honestly their entire set was superlative.
This was the first Hawaiian music show of its kind in Stratham, NH. People came from far and wide. Many had never heard kī hōʻalu including the sound guys. What a privilege it was to perform with these legends of Hawaiian music and bring slack key to the ears of new listeners. I am on Cloud 9. Mahalo nui to Rick and Janet Savastano, Alex and Ruthie Reola, and everyone else who made this show possible.
Tomorrow, Hōkū, Ioane, and the Uncles Jerome, John, and Moon perform the National Anthem at the New England Pats game.
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