MELE'UHENE

For the past two years, Hula Anyone and Mele’uhane have joined together to create a series of concerts that beautifully blend slack-key guitar, storytelling, singing, and hula dancing. This year we were lucky enough to perform a series of three concerts together in the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo area.

Mele’uhane is made up of a father and son duo, Keikilani and Leokani Lindsey. Hailing from the Big Island of Hawaii, we love that Mele’uhane celebrates every genre of music as well as their love of ‘ohana and culture with their unique interpretations of classic and traditional Hawaiian favorites.

The series of concerts kicked off at Alhecama theater in Downtown Santa Barbara, which provided an intimate stage performance for both the musicians and dancers. It was especially moving when a song was dedicated to a woman in the audience going through a tough time, leaving all in the room emotional.

For the second show we traveled to San Luis Obispo, where we were welcomed with Aloha from the halau, Na Mele O Ke Kai, and were treated to their dancing. We loved working with Na Mele O Ke Kai and hope that this show was just the beginning of many collaborations between our two halaus!

The series of concerts ended with a private show at a beautiful backyard garden generously donated by a student of Hula Anyone. Friends, family, and anyone looking to have a good time joined together to share the beautiful music, dancing, food, atmosphere and each other. A variety of furniture and food filled the backyard and with Mele’uhane’s foot tapping music, the audience couldn’t help but get up and dance to a classic like Brown Eyed Girl!

It was exciting for us to see all ages and ethnicities find something special in the concert series, whether it was discovering Hawaiian music for the first time, learning more about hula dancing, or enjoying the food and company.

To listen to Mele’uhane’s latest album, please visit: http://www.walkinthegarden.net/