Interview: Jacob Staron of Hook and Line Hook and Line is an Americana band formed in Honolulu, Hawaii. With no fancy effects, it’s all about great songs, energetically delivered with heart and harmony. The band features an ever changing lineup of guitar, blues harp, fiddle, upright bass and customized cajon, topped off with vocal harmonies. […]
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John Ridgeway of the band Discord and Rye ’s Roots Music Out of Hawaii Is it possible to find traditional Americana inspired music on one of the most remote land masses on Earth? You betcha! Although Hawaii is over four thousand miles from the birthplace of Bill Monroe, you can discover a bevy of high […]
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Jake Shimabukuro and Friends, March 06, 2020, The Blue Note, Honolulu, Hawaii I moved to Hawaii, the place I call home, in 1995. The Islands were in the midst of a Hawaiian musical renaissance. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole had recently released Facing The Future. It’s laid back ukulele strumming combined traditional Hawaiian language and hapa haole […]
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Judy Collins, The Blue Note, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 28, 2020 At eighty years old you would think Ms. Judy Collins would have retired and be enjoying her golden years. Fortunately that is not the case. In the past three years she has played over a hundred shows with Stephen Stills which crisscrossed the country […]
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John Craigie, February 22, 2020 The Republik, Honolulu, Hawaii The lifestyle of Hawaii is often described as “endless summer.” The islands in the middle of the Pacific are blessed with a perfect temperature and passing rain showers blown away by calm trade winds. Musician John Craigie’s performance was reminiscent of sitting around a fire on […]
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Today the initial lineup of the 66th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival has been announced. Both the Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals have been run by George Wein. Within the past few years Mr. Wein has passed the torch to Jay Sweet, the current executive producer of both festivals as well as its […]
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The Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii is a long way from Jason Isbell’s hometown upbringing in Alabama. Isbell, along with his wife Amanda Shires, arrived via Japan to perform their first ever concert in Hawaii. Isbell may perhaps be one of the best songwriters of our time. His songs tell stories, paint pictures, and […]
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I’ll admit I have not thought of Big Head Todd and The Monsters for at least twenty years. Of course I was familiar with their hit single “Bittersweet” off of their album Sister Sweetly (Giant Records/Warner) but since then I really hadn’t paid much attention to the band. The sheer volume of music available in this […]
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Hawaii has strong roots in the country music tradition. Visitors associate the Hawaiian landscape with palm trees, sun, and some of the best surf in the world. Few realize Hawaiian cowboys, known as paniolos, were herding cattle on the Hawaiian Islands decades before cowboys roamed the range of the American West. And even fewer visitors […]
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10,000 Maniacs was founded in 1981 Jamestown, New York. Between 1987 and 1992 the band released three double platinum albums; In My Tribe, Blind Man’s Zoo, and Our Time In Eden. The band became wildly popular and helped define the jangly alternative rock popular at the time. Then in 1993 lead vocalist Natalie Merchant announced […]
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