[VIDEO] Makana opens ‘Curators’ series at Royal Hawaiian

Photos by Jason Genegabus / jason@starbulletin.com

Local slack key guitarist Makana kicked off the new “Curators of Hawaiian Music” concert series at the Royal Hawaiian’s Monarch Room last week, complete with a pre-show press conference at the Waikiki hotel.

It was a beautiful day on Thursday, and the first time I’d been back to the Royal since it had finished a recent round of renovations.

This gate at the entrance to the hotel is new and pretty darn classy:

Just inside the entryway, a large poster advertised the new concert series.

Lots of tourists stopped to admire Makana’s smiling face:

And since I was just steps from the sand at Waikiki Beach, you know I had to stop and take a tourist-style shot of Diamond Head:

At the press conference inside, Makana was joined by the Royal Hawaiian’s general manager, Kelly Hoen, and Monarch Room maitre d Coronado Aquino:

Makana spoke at length about how honored he was to be selected to re-open the Monarch Room, showing respect to the musicians who came before him and promising to provide an authentic Hawaiian experience for guests at the hotel:

Click here to listen to some of Makana’s comments about his new gig.

In addition to the current headliner, the Royal also laid out a bunch of photos from the Monarch Room’s heyday. A number of Hawaii music heavyweights performed there back in the day, so there were lots of pictures of celebrities:

Star-Bulletin Features Editor Nadine Kam was also at the Monarch Room last week.

Here are two videos she posted on her blog, “Fashion Tribe.” Click here to read her thoughts on the evening.

The “Curators of Hawaiian Music” concert series continues tomorrow with Makana and repeats every Thursday until the end of August; each hour-long performance includes a four-piece band and traditional Hawaiian dancers. Next up is Maunalua in September and October, followed by Cecilio and Kapono performing Hawaiian acoustic rock in November and December.

Tickets for the cocktail show are $49 per person with a two-drink minimum (a $39 kama’aina rate is also available); the first performance is from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by a later show from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Royal Hawaiian at 931-7311 or 931-4600, or visit www.royal-hawaiian.com.