Slack key guitar masters Ledward Kaapana, George Kuo, Bobby Moderow and Jeff Peterson top the bill as Milton Lau, the Ki-ho‘alu Foundation, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, and the Waikiki Aquarium, present the 44th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival Waikiki Style on Aug 29 on the lawn at the Waikiki Aquarium.
The depth and breadth of slack key in Hawaii is also represented by Hawaii music industry veterans Kawika Kahiapo, Darrell Aquino, Walt Keale, and Dwight Kanae, by 2026 Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Anthony Pfluke (Contemporary Acoustic Album, Hawaiian Music Video), and by Kamuela Kahoano, Kahiau Lam Ho, and LT Smooth.
The music starts at 5 p.m. and continues until 9 p.m.
Lau created the Hawaiian Slack Guitar Festival in 1982 when slack key was a “grass roots” musical tradition that existed largely outside the mainstream. Forty-four years later, Lau and the Ki-ho‘alu Foundation also present slack key festivals in other parts of Oahu, on the neighbor islands, and the U.S. mainland .
Tickets are $25 ($15 for Hawaii residents and military personnel; ID required) and will be sold at the door. Admission is free for everyone 12 and younger. Proceeds benefit the Waikiki Aquarium.