Kalaupapa concert coming back online

The popular “Music of Kalaupapa” concert, which featured songs written by residents of the remote Molokai peninsula where Hansen’s disease patients were confined, will be made available again online for the holidays.

“We didn’t expect to have the great reaction we did when it aired the first time in October, but … we had so many wonderful comments on it.” said Valerie Monson, executive director of Ka Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the dignity and interests of Kalaupapa residents. She added that it seemed appropriate to repost it for the holidays, since people would be spending more time cooped up at home than usual. “This is something that we thought would bring joy into people’s lives,” she said.

The presentation features Brother Noland, Melveen Leed, Kevin Brown, Makana, Lopaka Ho‘opi‘i and Stephen Inglis performing songs by Kalaupapa residents George McLane, Ernest Kala, Sammy Kuahine, Helen Keao, Bernard K. Punikai‘a, the Boys of Kalawao and the ‘Aikala Brothers.

The concert will be posted starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and will be available through Jan. 3. It can be accessed at kalaupapaohana.org or at fb.com/kalaupapaohana. Donations to a memorial for those who died on Kalaupapa are welcome.