Photos: Courtesy of Hula
Four individuals and the world’s top selling female Hawaiian musical group have been named to the 2024 class for induction into the prestigious Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame (HMHF).
The inductees will be honored at the Oct. 27, 2024, “Lei of Stars” ceremony at the ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach which will feature a Sunday brunch.
“The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame annually honors persons who have contributed to promoting, preserving and perpetuating Hawaiian music and hula,” said HMHF President Toni Lee.
Kumu Hula George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai, who passed away in 2006, enjoyed an illustrious career as a dancer, drummer, musician and was a regular judge at hula competitions. He was a skilled chanter for the Aloha Week Court and a beloved hula and ʻukulele instructor for the City and County of Honolulu. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts.
Edwina Noelani Kanoho Mahoe is a musician, singer, recording artist, author, historian, kumu hula, music teacher and show producer. In the early 1960s she formed the Leo Nahenahe Singers along with Ethelynne and Mona Teves and Lynette Kaopuiki. She holds a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts.
Ledward Kaʻapana is a Grammy-nominated musician well known as a slack key guitar master. He also plays steel guitar, ʻukulele, autoharp and bass guitar. In his teens, Kaʻapana formed the legendary musical group Hui ʻOhana along with his brother Nedward Kaʻapana and falsetto great Dennis Pavao. Hui ʻOhana released 14 commercially successful albums. Kaʻapana also led the group I Kona and performed with the Pahinui Brothers, Genoa Keawe and Barney Issacs.
Kimo Alama Keaulana has more than 50 years of experience teaching all forms of hula. He has presented workshops, presentations and lectures for the Bishop Museum, the Kamakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, the Kawaihuelani Hawaiian Language Center, Liliʻuokalani Trust and many other civic organizations and societies. As a musical historian, his “Kimo Alama Keaulana Collection,” housed in the Bishop Museum Archives, is one of the museum’s most widely used collection and contains nearly 1,000 Hawaiian language songs with their translations, annotations and cross references.
As the world’s top-selling female Hawaiian music group, Nā Leo Pilimehana – Lehua Kalima Alvarez, Nalani Jenkins and Angela Escontrias – celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. The group has released more than 20 No. 1 hits, produced more than 20 CDs with a worldwide distribution, and they continue to write, record and perform. Nā Leo has more than 20 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards winning honors over four decades – the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.
The annual Lei of Stars awards ceremony is a fundraiser for the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Individual tickets are $200 and corporate tables of 10 are $5,000 to $10,000. For more information contact Toni Lee at parade.lady001@gmail.com.
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