Getting the gang ready for our first instrument “petting zoo”! 🎻🤗
What is an Instrument Petting Zoo, anyway?🧐
It’s a hands-on musical experience where keiki (and their grown-ups!) get to explore real instruments up close—touch them, hear them, even try playing them!🤩
In this photo, you’ll spot my full-size cello standing tall on the far left—ready to meet some tiny new friends! 🐣🎻
🎉 We’ll be bringing our Instrument Petting Zoo to all THREE of our library shows this month! We can’t wait to see you!
Big mahalo to our buddies at @pacific_strings for supplying the instruments for the petting zoo 🙌🏽
MARTIN O’AHU | The Martin O’ahu family of instruments pays homage to the Hawaiian music craze of the 1920s and early ‘30s, a pivotal era that helped shape the modern steel-string acoustic guitar. At the heart of this collection, joining the Custom K-1 Major Kealakai, is the all-new HG-28, a fresh take on a classic design with Hawaiian roots. Featuring a unique body size, solid flamed Hawaiian koa back and sides, and a solid spruce top, the HG-28 delivers the unmistakable Martin sound in an approachable, comfortable size - ideal for musicians looking to make their own mark on music history.
#majorkealakai #dreadnought #hawaiianmusic
We are so excited to be launching a new Forest to Frets ‘Ukulele program in partnership with @windwardcc summer 2026! This six week course will delve into the art and craft of Lutherie, and will result in each participant completing a kit that is a reproduction of Princess Ka’iulani’s personal uke (this is the prototype photographed here). Ka’iulani is of a generation of Hawaiian musicians, composers, designers, and visionaries mentored by Nā Lani Ehā and Henry Berger of the Royal Hawaiian Band, and in whose hands Hawaiian stringed instruments would entrance and inspire the world to dream of a brighter, more musical life. We are honored to partner with our favorite musicians, builders and organizations: @kaulunani Artist in Residence, @kanileaukulele Company, @ukulele_friend and the #honokaupucollection, @aaronckeim@hawaiianmusicarchives@hawaiistatearchives@kamuela_music@jakeshimabukuro , @raiateamusic , @jeffpetersonguitar . Stay tuned for more news and details!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Raiatea Helm’s A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String Celebrated as a Landmark Recording Honoring Hawaiʻi’s Global Musical Legacy
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi — Following a nationally acclaimed tour and widespread critical praise, Raiatea Helm’s award-winning album A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String continues to be recognized as a defining artistic statement—one that bridges the musical legacy of the 19th-century Hawaiian Kingdom with the soundscape of modern American music.
The project has drawn extraordinary endorsements from some of the most respected voices in contemporary music:
“Her genuine commitment to the culture is represented with such grace and dignity …” — Mick Fleetwood
“A phenomenal project … Helm’s voice is, without question, one of the most revered voices of Hawai‘i.” — Jake Shimabukuro
“You would not have Country music, Bluegrass, Blues, Jazz, etc. as it is today without the vital influence of Hawaiian music.” — Rob Ickes, GRAMMY® Award Winner & 10-time IBMA Dobro Player of the Year
“A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String … is Raiatea and her view of the future, which will always connect to the past.” — Jon de Mello, President & CEO, Mountain Apple Company
National media has echoed this praise. Writing for Folk Alley, Devon Léger named the recording among the “Best Trad of 2023,” noting that the album reminds listeners that “if you like the pedal steel in country, the slide guitar in blues, or even the electric guitar in rock, you owe a debt to Hawaiians.” The Honolulu Star-Advertiser likewise highlighted the album’s role in shining a spotlight on the Hawaiian string band era.
Produced in collaboration with Kilin Reece and the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, the album reimagines the Hawaiian string ensembles that helped shape global guitar traditions. Through Helm’s luminous falsetto and historically informed arrangements, A Legacy of Hawaiian Song & String affirms Hawaiʻi not only as a cultural treasure, but as a foundational force in the evolution of American music.
#hawaiianmusic #nativeartsandculturesfoundation #steelguitar #leokiekiefalsetto
PURCHASE TICKETS:
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Get your tickets now for a chance to win a Forest To Frets Steel Guitar donated by @pacific_strings ! Come and see us next week Saturday at the Leeward Theatre. This will be my first time performing there, would love to see you! #hawaiianmusic #raiateahelm #hawaiiansteelguitar #kihoalu #ukulele
Kaulunani extends a warm welcome to our new artist-in-residence, Ki-Lin Reece! Ki-Lin is a Grammy-nominated musician, cultural historian, and master luthier with over 30 years of experience in the restoration and construction of fine acoustic stringed instruments.
This residency will investigate Hawaiʻi’s only indigenous stringed instrument—the ʻūkēkē, a musical mouth‑bow (pictured on the left). It foregrounds the fusion of the Madeiran machete (introduced to Hawaiʻi in the 1870s) with the ʻūkēkē: a cultural and musical hybrid that, in Kalākaua’s royal court and public gatherings, gave rise to the modern ʻukulele.
Ki-Lin is our third artist participating in The Nature of Cities’ NaturePLACE Collaborative Arts Program. Stay tuned for curated events and public programs that explore ideas emerging from our collaboration!
Photo by Kaʻōhua Photography
Excited to announce an incredibly generous contribution to our nonprofit, from Donna and Richard Leman on behalf of Donna‘s father Donald W.F. Ching. Donald was a World War II veteran who purchased this guitar from a fellow US serviceman named Paul M. Kurata in the 1940s for $50. The guitar was rarely taken out of the case over the last 80 years and is in unbelievably pristine condition. This is the exact Guitar purchased by Django Reinhardt and played by him in the iconic Quintette du Hot Club de France. We are looking forward to using this beautiful and historic guitar in upcoming recording sessions, exhibitions, and concerts. #django #selmer #maccaferriguitar #hotclubdefrance
