Senator Brickwood Galuteria at Pakele Live!

Aloha kakou!

This is a special edition of the Hawaiian events newsletter - only one topic!

Having recently celebrated its second birthday, Pakele Live! with Tony Solis is pleased to announce a very special, first-time guest for the August 6 show: Senator Brickwood Galuteria. Senator Galuteria and friends will play music from a variety of genres, including traditional Hawaiian and Hawaiian jazz.

An accomplished musician and two-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner (1985’s Male Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Artist), his Pakele Live! appearance will mark the busy Senator’s first opportunity in some time to perform in a concert setting. In addition to serving his constituents and performing his duties as Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Tourism and member of the Ways & Means, Education & Housing, and Public Safety & Military Affairs Committees, Senator Galuteria continues to work as co-host of “Na Oiwi Olino - People Seeking Wisdom” on AM940, and he maintains his life-long dedication to and involvement with numerous other programs and services, particularly those with cultural significance to Hawai’i and its people.

Brickwood Galuteria (pictured at left with the late Aunty Genoa Keawe)began his musical career when he and his Kamehameha Schools friend and classmate Kenneth Makuakane (who has since gone on to win 12 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards) formed a group they named “Na Leo O Kamehameha,” with Chris Keli’ia’a and Miles Kahaloa. Over the years, the Senator became increasingly involved with music as a Hawaiian art form, expanding his interests from that of a performer to the business and promotion of music and culture. As a performer, he traveled around the world playing music for the Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau and Hawaiian Airlines, and he performed with Marlene Sai at the Monarch Room. In 1980 he also began working as a radio on-air personality, developing shows such as “The Biggest Little Nightclub in Town.” He worked as the Aloha Morning Show host on KCCN and KINE for sixteen years.

He further expanded his work to include hosting such TV series as the Discovery Channel’s “These Enchanted Islands,” ESPN’s “Hawai’i Sports Adventure,” and KHON’s “Hawai’i’s Kitchen Treasures,” and since 2007 he’s been the moderator of “Ho’oulu Lahui Aloha,” a series of shows on Hawaiian history, culture, politics, events, and language.

A lifetime dedicated to public service has taken the Senator down many paths, from chairman of the Democratic Party to crew member and media coordinator of Hokule’a’s 1992 Voyage of Education. He is a past chairman of the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts, and has served on the board of many organizations, from the Hawai’i Special Olympics to the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program, and many more.

However, despite his busy schedule and the many hats he wears, Senator Galuteria has remained steadfast in his commitment to and love of music, finding it both a source of strength and a place of refuge. His devotion to music and musicians is evident to many – he has played a significant role in the evolution of music in Hawai’i over the past 30 years.

Please join host Tony Solis as he welcomes Senator Brickwood Galuteria to the Pakele Live! stage on Thursday August 6 from 6-8 p.m. HST at the Pakele Lounge in the Ala Moana Hotel (410 Atkinson Dr., Honolulu). It’s free, open to all ages, and free parking is available next door at Ala Moana Shopping Center. (Drinks are available for purchase, although the hotel no longer serves food.)

Those unable to attend in person are invited to watch the show’s live broadcast over the internet at: http://www.pakelelive.com/

Those in Japan can watch at: http://www.j-wave.co.jp/