Kalani Pe’a will headline a Hui Kako’o Benefit Concert Series show at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Keauhou Shopping Center.
Pe’a will be performing his music from his Grammy Award-nominated debut album “E Walea” during the concert, which is held in affiliation with Kamehameha Schools. It will also serve as Pe’a’s official Big Island CD Release Party.
Admission is two cans of food that will be donated to The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s lone food bank. Those who bring more than two cans of food will receive an entry to win a prize from event sponsors Jam’s World, Paradise Found and Kona Stories.
Pe’a is among the final five nominated in the best regional roots music album category at the Grammy Awards, which will be held on Feb. 12. Other contenders in the category consist of Cajun, Zydeco and Native American music. Pe’a is the only finalist representing Hawaii.
“I am so honored and blessed to be the first Hawaiian immersion graduate and educator representing my kupuna (ancestors), makua (parents) and ohana in the Grammy’s this year,” Pe’a said. “I have been singing since 4 and finally created a music album that really defines who I am as a modern Hawaiian singer, songwriter and Hawaiian cultural practitioner.”
Born and raised in Panaewa, Pe‘a’s singing career started at the young age of 4 after he was diagnosed with a speech impediment. Leonard and Pe‘a’s father, Arthur (Ata) Pe‘a, who comes from a musical family, encouraged their son to take vocal lessons, choir, and entered him in numerous talent and karaoke competitions. He went on to win an array of competitions, including Hawaii’s Brown Bags to Stardom, and first place in the National Association Teacher’s of Singing Competition in Colorado/Wyoming chapter, which he won as a college student, among others.
A 2001 graduate of Ke Kula ‘o Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u, the Hawaiian language immersion school in Kea‘au, Pe‘a attended college at Colorado Mesa University (Mesa State College) from 2001-07 before moving back to the Big Island in summer 2008. He currently resides on Maui, and is the Hawaiian resource coordinator at Kamehameha Schools — Kealakulia on Maui.
Pe’a’s debut album hit No. 1 on iTunes World Music Charts on Aug. 5, 2016, a day before the CD was officially released. His album also hit No. 12 on Billboard Music World Charts.
Info: www.kalanipeamusic.com, and www.keauhoushoppingcenter.com.
