Amy Hanaiali‘i will present “A Palehua Christmas” concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday. Courtesy photo
Multi-Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Amy Hanaiali’i was among the many artists who contributed to the remarkable “E Ola Maui” song and video, designed to inspire hope and resilience among our island residents following the August fires.
Sung in Hawaiian and English, “E Ola Maui” was composed by the combined talents of Kumu Hula Cody Pueo Pata, Kimie Miner, Kalena Parish, Joshua Kahula and Kala’e Parish.
Released in October and directed by Ruben Carrillo, the video featured Henry Kapono and Brother Noland singing in Wailuku, Hanaiali’i at Kaua’ula Valley, Tavana in Kahului, Miner and Kala’e Parish at Olowalu, Kalenaku at Napili Bay, Wailau Ryder Kahula and Lopaka Colon in Wailuku, Pata at the Pu’u Kukui Watershed, and the Lahainaluna High School football team in Kihei.
“I went up to Kaua’ula Valley and was filmed in the lo’i,” Hanaiali’i reported. “It’s to give hope to Lahaina. The messaging of Maui has been really hard because you don’t want anybody to go into the burn area, but the rest of Maui has to work. So it’s been a hard one. A bunch of us are talking about Lahaina and the impact. We’re just trying to find ways of hope to push it forward. It’s been really important to be a voice to help Lahaina’s resilience moving forward.”
Previously taking part in several benefit concerts to aid those impacted by the fires, Hanaiali’i will present “A Palehua Christmas” concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday. Donations will be collected at the show for the Maui Food Bank.
“It’s just to bring a little lightness and festiveness to Maui,” she said. “I’m doing all the outer islands as well. I wasn’t too sure because Maui is really hurting right now, but this would just be a little bit of hope.”
The show will feature her brother Eric Gilliom along with multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Sean Na’auao and Mailani Makaina’i. Part of the festivities will include the premier of a new video paying tribute to the award-winning song “Palehua,” which she composed with Willie K.
“It’s Palehua’s 25th anniversary this year,” she explained. “I was with my cousin, Kuma Micah Kamohoali’i and I said, ‘Do you want to direct a video for me?’ The story behind it is really endearing. It’s very cultural, a really beautiful story. We’re premiering it at my concerts.”
Always busy with various projects, this renowned multi-Grammy nominated artist has been working on recording an audio book. “It’s an audio book of Queen Lili’uokalani’s actual words, her actual book in her own writing. It’s very hard, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. The Lili’uokalani Trust asked me to do it. Everybody has made their own book about her life, but she never launched her diaries of what she really thought about everything. It’s a really revealing book.”
And then there’s a collaboration with Grammy winning musician Michael McDonald. “I recorded that some time ago and we’re getting ready to launch it. It’s a song that I wrote called ‘Live, Love and Learn.’ It’s an amazing track. His voice is unbelievable. There’s nobody like Michael McDonald. We’ll probably release it the beginning of next year.”
At her MACC concert, she will feature some of her classic songs along with seasonal gems from her acclaimed album, “A Hawaiian Christmas.” The Hoku winning collection included such seasonal hymns as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Come All Ye Faithful” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which marked the first time they had been recorded in the Hawaiian language.
“It’s going to be very festive,” she said. “Escape for the evening and come and enjoy the music. We’re having Food Bank involved, and that’s important.”
“A Palehua Christmas” is presented at the MACC’s Castle Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15, $25, $45, $65, and a limited number of $125 seats, plus applicable fees. There will be pre-show festivities in the Yokouchi Pavilion courtyard with displays of Maui arts and crafts. Patrons who bring a Maui Food Bank donation will be entered into a drawing to win a post-show meet and greet with Hanaiali’i.
Amy Hanaiali‘i will present “A Palehua Christmas” concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday. Courtesy photoToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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