Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole is a striking performer. With his thick, black hair and piercing eyes, his look is imposing, but his manner is welcoming. He’s still in his 20s, and not opposed to public silliness — he made an attention-getting run to the podium to accept his Na Hoku Hanohano award last year, wearing high heels — but an essential aspect of his persona is his deep reverence for Hawaiian culture.

He sings and is fluent in Hawaiian, with music drawn from the tradition of chant, yet his music isn’t exclusively channeled from the past. He’s an innovator who records only original music and says, "Sometimes, I don’t know what’s going to come out of my mouth."

His appeal was recognized when his most recent album, 2008’s self-titled "Kaumakaiwa," won awards for best male vocalist and Hawaiian language performance in 2009. "If what you’re putting forth is true, then it translates to the human experience," he says. "It achieves a certain synergy."

Kanakaole headlines the First Friday "Live From the Lawn" concert at the Hawaii State Art Museum today, as part of a lineup spotlighting Big Island performers. He’ll be on stage along with Wailau Ryder, Lorna Lim and Bo Lozoff, singing for people who might be distracted by their toddlers, or stopping just for a minute between galleries, or sitting on the grass to eat dinner — or captivated by his style.

He acknowledges the backyard-party atmosphere of the "Live From the Lawn" concerts, but says, "An audience is an audience. If the music is attractive, people will listen."

His singing voice is sweet, smooth and strong — a strength tied directly to his mastery of Hawaiian. And that mastery can be traced to his matrilineage, as the great-grandson of Edith Kanakaole, grandson of Pualani and son of Kekuhi — all women inextricably connected to Hawaiian song and hula, which for the young singer are joined as one.

"They both come from the same place," he says. "Had it not been for the hula tradition, then I would not have had the same source to draw on."

Kanakaole, who returns to the studio next month to work on a new album, is all about paying tribute to those who came before him.

"Music is essentially a public service," he says. "It’s not all about me."