The ukulele, also called a uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part of Hollywood soundtracks. Hawaii also made a contribution to country music with the introduction of the steel guitar. In addition, the music which began to be played by Puerto Ricans in Hawaii in the early 1900s is called cachi cachi music, on the islands of Hawaii.
The music of Polynesia is a diverse set of musical traditions from islands within a large area of the central and southern Pacific Ocean, approximately a triangle with New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island forming its corners. Traditional Polynesian music is largely an inseparable part of a broader performance art form, incorporating dance and recital of oral traditions; most literature considers Polynesian music and dance together. Polynesian music expanded with colonial European contact and incorporated instruments and styles introduced through a process of acculturation that continues to the present day. Although the European tradition of hymn-singing brought by Christian missionaries was probably the most important influence, others are evident; Hawaii's influential kī hōʻalu music incorporated the Spanish guitar introduced in the late 19th century, and later introduced the steel guitar to country music. Hip hop and R&B influences have created a contemporary Urban Pasifika music genre with a strong Polynesian identity and supported by the annual Pacific Music Awards in New Zealand.
A lūʻau is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment. It may feature food such as poi, kālua puaʻa, poke, lomi salmon, ʻopihi, and haupia, beer, and entertainment such as traditional Hawaiian music and hula. Among people from Hawaiʻi, the concepts of "lūʻau" and "party" are often blended, resulting in graduation lūʻau, wedding lūʻau, baby lūʻau, and birthday lūʻau.
Ernest Kaʻai (1881–1962) was considered by many to have been the foremost ukulele authority of his time and is noted by some as being "Hawaii's Greatest Ukulele Player". Kaʻai, who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, was said to have been the first musician to play a complete melody with chords. He was the son of Simon Kaloa Kaʻai, a prominent politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Saidoweizu (2009), the Japanese remake of Sideways.
Imua Garza is a Grammy Award nominated producer, vocalist, musician, recording engineer and composer. His first official professional music release was around the age of 11. He then went on to record and perform with the ukulele group Opihi Pickers.
Leonard Keala Kwan Sr (1931-2000) was one of the most influential Hawaiian slack-key guitarists to emerge in the period immediately preceding the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance of the 1970s. He made the first LP of slack key instrumentals, co-wrote the second slack key instruction book, and composed a number of pieces that have become part of the standard repertory. Most players will include Kwan, along with Gabby Pahinui, Sonny Chillingworth, and Atta Isaacs, on a list of the most significant players of the older generation.
Pacific reggae is a style of reggae music found in the Pacific. This style is found in Polynesia, and Melanesia. Within this genre there are differing styles, for example between the New Zealand reggae sound, and that found in the Pacific Islands. According to Herbs co-founder Dilworth Karaka, it is a phrase UB40 came up with.
Peter Moon was an American ukulele and slack-key guitar player.
The Sons of Hawaii was a Hawaiian musical group that became popular among mainstream audiences from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Sacred Island is an album by the American blues/world artist Taj Mahal and the Hawaiian music group the Hula Blues Band, released in 1998.
Eric Lee is a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. His work has appeared on more than 30 albums, including his work with The Kanile'a Collection, Nā Kama, The Ka'ala Boys, The Mākaha Sons, and his solo albums, Crossroads, Kawehilani, and his Twentieth Anniversary Anthology.
Karl Zinsman Jr. is a Hawaiian/ Reggae multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, music producer, graphic designer and manager. He is an artist/ producer and founder of the island music groups "Three Plus", "Hi-Town" and "The Brown Boys". He is also owner of CK Music Co.
Roy Sakuma is recognized as Hawaii's foremost ukulele teacher and proponent of the instrument dedicating his life to spreading the joy of the ukulele in Hawaii and the world and making the ukulele renaissance possible. Roy Sakuma is the founder of the Ukulele Festival, the world's first and original ukulele festival, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.
Kimié Kauikeolani Miner better known as Kimié, is an Grammy Award nominated producer, American singer-songwriter and musician of Native Hawaiian and Portuguese descent. In November 2019 Miner earned her first Grammy Award nomination for the compilation album titled "Hawaiian Lullaby" as a producer along with producer Imua Garza. It was released in 2019 under her label Haku Collective. Hawaiian Lullaby was nominated in the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards under the Best Regional Roots Music Album category. Miner is an independent artist formerly managed by Kimo Kennedy of Arium Music and Kekoa Kapua of FR Management.
SDIB is a reggae rock band based out of San Diego, California. Their acronym stands for San Diego Island Boys as a tribute to their Hawaiian heritage. The band is currently on hiatus with members involved in other projects. SDIB has released two albums, which charted in the iTunes top 10 for 2007 and 2014.
Hawaiian Lullaby is the album by Haku Collective. It was released on May 24, 2019.
Kolohe Kai is a Hawaiian reggae pop musical group formed in 2009 by singer-songwriter Roman De Peralta.
