Harris Center Welcomes Virtuosos Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

Keola Beamer is a Hawaiian legend who has stretched the boundaries of slack key guitar music while remaining true to its deeply Hawaiian roots. Jeff Peterson is a rising star who uses the style's open tunings to explore multiple genres with ease and flair. Joined by lovely dancer Moanalani Beamer, they present an evening of superb guitar that explores the range of Hawai'i's many cultural influences (as evidenced by their music in the film The Descendants, starring George Clooney). "Keola Beamer is the Andres Segovia of the slack key guitar" (Long Beach Press Telegram).

Keola Beamer + Jeff Peterson with Moanalani Beamer, Virtuosos of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar will be presented Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18-$43; Premium $48. Tickets for children and students with ID are $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street. Special thanks to our event partner, Sea Escape Travel in Folsom.

Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer was raised on Hawaii Island, born into one of Hawaii's most illustrious and beloved musical families. He established himself early as the family's youngest standard-bearer. A child of the rock & roll era, he was at the vanguard of Hawaiian contemporary sound. Yet he also helped drive what became the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance, recording many songs written by his ancestors, including his legendary great-grandmother Helen Desha Beamer and his mother Nona Beamer. "In my family, music was taken seriously," Beamer says. "It was an integral part of our lives, almost like a religion. But Hawaiians are up against a shallow stereotype, often demeaning to the native culture. That hurts." It has been the life passion of Keola Beamer to counter such images.

Keola studied classical guitar, and went on to publish a slack key method book using a 16th-century lute tablature system as his starting point. He was one of Hawai'i's first recording artists to integrate Hawaiian chants and instruments, like the tiny gourd whistle and nose flute, into contemporary forms of music. Keola has recorded and produced more than a dozen albums, has won numerous Na Hoku Awards, Hawai'i's "Grammy," and appeared on Sesame Street and NBC's Today Show.

Says Willie Nelson, "There's no better slack key player than Beamer."

A two-time Grammy winner, Jeff Peterson was featured on Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2 which won the first ever Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian recording; his second Grammy in 2010 was for his contribution to Masters of Slack Key Guitar Vol. 2. A multiple Na Hoku Hanohano awardee (Hawai'i's Grammy), his Grammy-nominated Slack Key Masters collaboration with Amy Hanaiali'i won Best Island Music. Five of his original songs are featured on The Descendents soundtrack.

As a performer, Jeff has worked with a wide range of artists and groups including Eric Clapton, Led Ka'apana, James Galway, Michael Feinstein, the Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Opera Theatre, jazz bassist Rufus Reid, shakuhachi master Riley Lee, soprano Dana Hanchard, and many other artists in Hawaiian, classical, and jazz music. He had a critically acclaimed run with Bryan Stokes Mitchell at Feinstein's in NYC, and has performed with Ben Wolfe, Matt Catingub Big Band, and the Honolulu Pops orchestra with Sergio Mendez, Natalie Cole, Monica Mancini, and Aaron Neville.

Moanalani Beamer began her hula training at the early age of four with Kumu Hula (Hula Master) Johnny Hokoana, and continued training extensively with several different hula masters; she herself became a "Kumu Hula" in 2011, following a rigorous process of study and graduation ("uniki"). Her performing career included starring in several hula revues on Maui. In performance with Keola, she dances, chants, sings background vocals, and plays several ancient Hawaiian percussive instruments, including `ili`ili (river stone "castanets"), ka`eke`eke (cut bamboo) and Ipu (gourd drum). She also teaches, sharing her hula knowledge with students on Maui as well as in workshops across the U.S. and Europe.

Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

Tickets are available online at www.HarrisCenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time.

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