Makana – A Gift Given Freely
The following is a post by Christine Lu that was originally published on her personal blog.
Special thanks to 2009 Grammy nominated slack key guitar master Makana for the amazing special performance he gave at the Sheraton Waikiki’s Rum Fire to help kick off the So Much More Hawaii tour for our visiting bloggers in style.
All I got to say is, he is an extremely talented artist and amazing person who I absolutely adore.
Apparently, I’m not the only one as noted by National Geographic:
Makana, an acclaimed singer-songwriter from Oahu, whose name means “a gift given freely,” has been called by Esquire magazine the “greatest living player” of Hawaiian slack key guitar. With five albums to his credit, he has taken this centuries-old tradition and blasted it into the 21st century, fusing it with influences from Bob Marley to the Smashing Pumpkins, and opening for Sting and Santana. See why this young guitar hero is poised to break out.
Also a nice shout out to his manager, Yayoi Hara. Super sharp experienced business savvy power woman. I am coming across a lot of amazing strong women lately. Following Makana’s performance this evening, I walked straight up to Yayoi and said “tell me what it’s going to take to bring Makana back to Shanghai for another performance” and she says “let’s do it.”
Don’t think for a second it’s not going to happen. :)
I’ll be sharing more thoughts on Makana over the coming days but wanted to share footage of his performance tonight.
About The Author
Christine Lu is a self professed geek girl, sinophile and foodie based in Los Angeles. She is behind several cross border initiatives including The China Business Network, Chinameme and TEDxShanghai and hopes to help raise awareness in China of Hawaii as a tourism destination.