Fresh from winning Hawaii’s first Best Regional Roots Music Album award at the 2017 Grammys, music artist Kalani Pe‘a stepped on stage at the Ward Village Courtyard Wednesday night, with a growing list of future gigs, TV appearances and magazine interviews in his future.
“We’re slammed,” said his manager, Allan B. Cool.
“It’s been nonstop.”
Pe‘a, born on Hawaii island and a teacher on Maui, is a child of the Hawaiian Renaissance — a product of the Hawaiian language immersion program and a family full of musicians and singers.
“I’m so grateful … It’s so good to be home,” said Pe‘a minutes before performing.
He will give a free concert at Pulama Mauli Ola-Nawahi Campus in Keaau on Hawaii island at noon Saturday.
His songs are not traditional Hawaiian, but they are virtually sung in native Hawaiian, many with a soulful melodious sound and rhythm and blues influences.
There’s also a touch of his family in his last song, “Nani a Maika‘i,” a church hymn sung by his grandmother Mary Ka‘iawe Manuai.
Pe‘a said the title of his debut album, “E Walea,” means being passionate and exuberant.
“I wanted to create an album that describes who I am and talks about my journey in Hawaiian language,” he said.
Pe‘a credits his mother, Pua Leonard, with helping him overcome a speech impediment when he was
4 years old.
Rather than rely on a speech therapist, she helped him turn to singing to overcome his stutter.
“It saved my life,” he said.
In 2001, he graduated from Hawaiian immersion school Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u on Hawaii island.
He later earned a degree in mass communications at Colorado Mesa University and returned to Hawaii in 2009.
Pe‘a continues to hold his day job as a full-time resource coordinator at Kamehameha Schools Maui.
