“I’m just a bottle that pours the wine, a fragile vessel for melody and rhyme,” said songwriter David Ball to a young fan who asked where his songs came from. Indeed songs occasionally pour out of a writer’s soul like
“I’m just a bottle that pours the wine, a fragile vessel for melody and rhyme,” said songwriter David Ball to a young fan who asked where his songs came from. Indeed songs occasionally pour out of a writer’s soul like wine, but other times artists can ponder for hours over what rhymes with door-hinge.
Next weekend, June 11, 12 and 13, some of the country’s top hit songwriters will gather at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel for the Hawaii Songwriting Festival. Previously held on Kauai, and called The Kauai Music Festival, the festival moves to the Big Island as the Hawaii Songwriting Festival.
“This is a festival that has been going on for 12 years,” said organizer Charles Brotman. “For its 13th year, and we decided to give it try here on the Big Island. It’s a conference for songwriters, publishers, Hollywood film music supervisors, and for songwriters and composers. We’ve brought in a lot of the top songwriters from Nashville and Los Angeles for three days of networking, panel discussions, and workshops.”
The festival offers three days and evenings of intensive interaction with some of the best names in the music business. Small workshops, panel discussions, open mic performances, as well as speed mentoring sessions, provide participants with insider knowledge to help them succeed in writing and promoting original songs.
“Pitching songs is something that goes on constantly throughout the festival,” said Brotman. “There are people there from the industry side of the business, to share their knowledge about how you can get your music published, or how you can get your music on TV. We offer speed music sessions for whomever you want to sign up with. It’s a 15-minute session where you can put a pair of headphones on them and say ‘what do you think of this?’”
The Hawaii Songwriting Festival celebrates the art and craft of songwriting, emphasizing collaboration, education, and music for film and television. Songwriters of all skill levels and all ages come together to connect with each other and with music professionals.
The festival will feature songwriters who have written and co-written hits for stars such as Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, George Strait, Meghan Trainor, LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Train, Britney Spears, Garth Brooks, Carole King, Ringo Starr, Reba McEntire, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson, Joe Cocker, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, The Fray, The Gipsy Kings, Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, Heart, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Kip Moore, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Daughtry, Chris Young, Florida Georgia Line, Chicago, Backstreet Boys, Rascal Flatts, Nickel Creek, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and many more.
“The festival has a reputation on the mainland as one of the best songwriting festivals in the country,” said Brotman. “One is because it’s small. We usually have about a 120 to 150 attendees. The other is because it’s here in Hawaii. These people that are so high pressure and high power in New York, LA, and Nashville, come over here and really let their guard down. They’re happy to just hang out at lunch or at the bar, the open mics, and just share whatever information they have with the attendees.”
The festival culminates in two public concerts at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel’s Ballroom at 7 p.m. The “Island Night” concert on June 12 features John Cruz, Henry Kapono, Nathan Aweau, John Keawe, Kainani Kahaunaele, and others. The “Hit Makers” concert on June 13 features a roster of hit songwriters who will be performing and sharing stories about their songs.
“Saturday night’s concert features a list of hit songwriters from Nashville and Los Angeles who have an amazing track record of number one hit records from everyone from Christina Aguilera to Rascal Flatts,” said Brotman. “The really cool thing about this concert is that these are people who can walk down the street and no one really recognizes who they are, but they’ve written huge hits for big stars, and you get to hear them play the songs as they originally wrote them. Just them with their guitar, sitting on their sofa at home, telling a story about the song and so forth. It’s like a backstage pass. It’s a very unique opportunity to hear these guys.”
This festival is presented by the nonprofit organization “The Kaua’i Music Festival.” It is made possible by by county and state grants as well as local sponsors and donors.
To register as an attendee, or to purchase concert tickets, visit hawaiisongwritingfestival.com. For more information, call 989-1735.
