The Wailers, Hiroshima & More Set for Blue Note in April
By: Tyler Peterson Mar. 31, 2016
Blue Note Hawaii, the state's premier venue for the world's most celebrated artists, will be jamming as they welcome legendary reggae supergroup, The Wailers, Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, Latin percussionist Gerardo Velez and a host of local talent including Willie K, Natalie Ai Kamauu, Melveen Leed and Shari Lynn. The month kicks off with local music icons Henry Kapono, Brother Noland and John Cruz together as the Rough Riders. Blue Note Hawaii also continues Gospel Brunch every Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. showtime, with doors opening at 11:00 a.m.
Additional outreach to locals is the 15% kama'aina discount available to residents for all shows at all price levels. This is available online with code MAHALO15, as well as in person at the box office. Parking is validated at the Ohana East Hotel for $6 for four hours.
The full April Blue Note Hawaii lineup includes:
The Rough Riders featuring Henry Kapono, John Cruz and Brother Noland
Dates: March 31 - April 2
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Ticket prices: $45, $35, $25
Hawaii Music icons and award-winning artists, Henry Kapono, John Cruz and Brother Noland bring to the stage the well-honed craft and power of three inspiring songwriters, three distinctive voices and the perfect blending of guitars to create an exceptional musical style.
The Wailers
Dates: April 4 - 10
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Ticket prices: $50, $40, $30
Together with Bob Marley, The Wailers have sold over 250 million albums and have played to an estimated 24 million people across the globe performing an average of 200 dates a year. The Wailers are undoubtedly the world's premier reggae and world music group who bring high energy shows to fans across the globe.
Ginai
Date: April 11
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
Three time Hawaiian Music Awards winner and the winner of two Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for the magnetic albums, "Hot Club of Hulaville" and "Django Would Go," Ginai has proven to be a compelling surge of dynamism that continues to shock your mind, body and soul with her charismatic, hypnotic voice and welcoming stage presence. When you hear her voice and see her perform, you can't help but be captivated. She is an exciting and riveting internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter who has worked many years to become one of the worlds most accomplished performers with eight CD releases in Japan.
Lee Ritenour
Dates: April 12 - 17
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $55, $45, $35
Grammy award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour received a rich cross section of exposure to jazz, rock and Brazilian music. He has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs, notably the Top 15 hit "Is It You," which has become a contemporary jazz radio classic. In the 90s, Ritenour was a founding member of Fourplay, the most successful band in contemporary jazz, with keyboardist Bob James, bassist Nathan East and drummer Harvey Mason.
Natalie Ai Kamauu
Date: April 18
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
With a voice of an angel, Natalie Ai Kamauu, is Hawaii's best kept secret no longer. And it's not just her voice, it's her heart that is heard in every note and lyric. Captivating audiences internationally, Natalie's voice has the ability to shake your soul.
Dates: April 19
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $45, $35, $25
Raised on Maui, Willie Kahaiali`i (a.k.a. Willie K) has been entertaining audiences with his music since the age of 10. He has evolved into an eclectic and charismatic singer, songwriter, entertainer, and now actor. One of Hawaii's most versatile talents, Willie performs a myriad of musical genres, including Hawaiian, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Rock, Country Western, and even Opera.
Ron Artis II
Dates: April 20
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
Ron Artis II is an American musician/singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work as Ron Artis II and Thunderstorm in Hawaii. He is named after his father Ron Artis, and is the eldest son in a family of eleven children. Ron has enjoyed music since before he could walk, crawling across his father's piano at age one. Ron has grown in all genres of music and loves to create new songs on the spot in his concerts, believing that, "Music is meant to be lived, as life is meant to be lived." Ron's recordings include genres of music from Rock, Blues, and Jazz and completely to the other side of the world into classical, flamenco then into the streets of Rap, R&B and soul.
John Brothers Piano Company
Dates: April 21
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
The unique original music of The John Brothers Piano Company has been described as "a throwback sound that evokes the honky-tonk ghosts of Barbary Coast" (SF Chronicle). The explosive symphonic experience births from a simple combination of piano and clarinet reflective of Bebop Jazz, Contemporary pop, and Russian classical music with an ever present sentimentality for the roaring 20s. The John Brothers Piano Company have successfully grown their music from the streets of Oakland and San Francisco to the stages of First City Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Outside Lands, The Edwardian Ball and venues on both the East and West Coast.
Dates: April 22
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
Prior to settling in Hawaii, Shari Lynn attended the Pasadena Playhouse, sang with George Shearing and led her own band, touring twenty-eight states for seven years. Since settling in Hawaii in 1976, she has successfully continued her career as a professional singer and actress. She's headlined in concerts with the Honolulu Symphony, and was the "girl singer" with the Del Courtney orchestra. She's had regular gigs in major hotel showrooms and lounges such as the Royal Hawaiian's Monarch Room with The Brothers Cazimero, the Kahala Hilton's Maile Room with Kit Samson, and the Sheraton's Hanohano Room with her own band, Fascinatin' Rhythm, which also had a ten-year run at the Hale Koa Hotel.
April 23
Showtimes: 6:30 pm (Doors open 5 pm) & 9 pm (Doors open 8:30 pm)
Tickets: $40, $30, $20
After Melveen Leed won the title of "Miss Molokai," she began singing in the mid-1960s and has released a number of records in the genres of Hawaiian, Country, and Jazz music. She won the Na Hoku Kano Hano Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984 and 1987. She has had several guest roles on Hawaii Five-0 and sang at the Grand Ole Opry and at Carnegie Hall. She is one of the best female vocalists in Hawaii and has performed in the Islands, Las Vegas, Japan and on the west coast of California. She was the anchor performer at the International Marketplace in Waikiki every Saturday from 2011 until the Marketplaces's closing in December 2014.
Gerardo Velez & Friends
April 25
Showtimes: 6:30 pm (Doors open 5 pm) & 9 pm (Doors open 8:30 pm)
Tickets: $35, $25, $15
Gerardo "Jerry" Velez is a Puerto Rican musician best known for performing with American psychedelic rock musician Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock Festival in August 1969. Velez is a veteran percussionist and drummer who has performed with many artists covering a number of different genres of music. He is also a common member of jazz-fusion band Spyro Gyra. Now a resident of Hawaii, Mr. Velez is the executive of the board of governors for American Society of Young Musicians New York Chapter and has created a new chapter in Hawaii to help the youth of today become the leaders of music into the future.
Hiroshima
Dates: April 26 - May 1
Showtimes: 6:30pm & 9pm
Doors: 5pm & 8:30pm
Tickets: $45, $35, $25.
Named to the 2014 Top 20 CD charts by SmoothJazz.com Hiroshima continues to be a force in the industry and continues to top the charts. With a musical career spanning three decades, gold records and four million in sales worldwide, Hiroshima continues to make their unique mix of East meets West - their signature sound.
Blue Note Gospel Brunch
Every Sunday
Tickets: $47 for the brunch and show. There is a 15% Kama'aina discount excluding gratuity.
Showtime: 1:00 p.m. (Doors open at 11 am)
The Blue Note Gospel Choir, an international cast of extraordinary vocalists and musicians, has united to create the most exciting gospel choir in the Pacific Rim. Guests will savor finger-licking good comfort food from our award-winning chef while the uplifting music of The Blue Note Gospel Choir moves your spirit and your feet.
Photo by Ken Fong
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