SATURDAY

>> Local artist pays tribute to Hokule‘a

Put on your painting overalls and join the Polynesian Voyaging Society on a community mural project in Kakaako.

As part of its membership drive, the organization, which supports the ventures of the Hokule‘a voyaging canoe and crew, is sponsoring the event in the courtyard of The Flats at Pu‘unui.

Leading the effort will be John “Prime” Hina of the street art collective 808 Urban. Participants will be able to pitch in on painting not only the walls, but also the bottom of a fountain in the space. “It will be a collective effort, so that community members cancome down and put their hands in the paint,” said voyaging society representative Mehana Maka‘ina‘i.

Join the Polynesian Voyaging Society for $5 to participate, then join in the fun. Participants will get a sticker that will offers discounts at nearby eateries, including Highway Inn and The Boiling Crab, which are offering 10 percent off, and Butterfly Ice Cream,which will take $1 off a scoop of ice cream.

Crew members from the Hokule ‘a will talk story about their experiences circumnavigating the globe last year, and entertainment will be provided by the Hawaiian Airlines halau and band, Hawaiian music artist Ho‘o Wong and island contemporary musicianKaohu Smith.

SATURDAY

>> Slack key guitar musicians gather for annual festival

Slack key guitar players young and old will gather on Saturday for the 36th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival “Waikiki Style.”

This year the festival will be held at the Waikiki Aquarium for the first time. The aquarium’s oceanfront lawn has proven to be a popular venue for concerts, with its summer concert series drawing Hawaii’s top performers as well as enthusiastic crowds.

“It’s a nice green space, right off the beach,” said Milton Lau, organizer of the festival. “People can not only enjoy the concert, they can enjoy the aquarium.”

This year’s festival features familiar names to slack-key fans, including Brother Noland, pictured, Nathan Aweau and George Kuo, along with newcomers such as Jonah Domingo and Lance Takamiya. Domingo, 16, will be a junior at Kamehameha Schools inthe fall, and has been studying with Duke Domingo (no relation) and Ozzie Kotani. “Most kids his age would not gravitate toward slack-key. Maybe they do metal or pop,” Lau said. “Young artists like him, he has a bright future.”

Takamiya, another student of Kotani, has been teaching for many years but has not performed much in public. He released his first album “Aloha, This Is Who We Are” this year. “What’s great about him is that he does a lot of his own compositions,” Lau said.“That’s what we need. We need repertoire.”

SATURDAY

>> Home Free brings country to barbershop

Home Free, a vocal group whose soaring harmonies and unusual repertoire earned them the title in NBC’s “The Sing Off” talent contest in 2013, comes to Honolulu on Saturday.

The all-male group is known for singing country music in barbershop-quartet style, with a fifth voice adding beatbox and other percussive effects. Their arrangements of tunes like Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” which they sang to a reggae rhythm, and theirlively antics on stage captivated audiences and brought judges Ben Folds, Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman and Jewel to their feet.

The group got its start in Minnesota in 2000 and performed at festivals and fairs and on cruise ships for years. It wasn’t until they turned to country music that they were chosen for “The Sing Off” on their third try. Since winning the show, they’ve produced aseries of popular albums, with four of them – “Crazy Life” (2014), “Country Evolution” (2015), “Full of (Even More) Cheer” (2016) and “Timeless” (2017) – reaching the Top 10 on Billboard’s country charts.

While best known for country music, the men in Home Free continue singing in other styles as well. One of their more popular YouTube videos, with more than 10 million views, is their rendition of Meghan Trainor’s body-image-affirming pop tune “All AboutThat Bass.” They also recently released a version of the O’Jays’ R&B hit “Love Train.”

The group consists of founding member and beatboxer Adam Rupp, lead tenor Austin Brown, baritone Adam Chance, tenor Rob Lundquist and Tim Foust, who was praised on “The Sing Off” for an effortless, three-octave range that took him from the deepestbass to high tenor.

SUNDAY

>> The soundtrack of ‘Kingdom Hearts’ fills Blaisdell Concert Hall

The music of a popular video-game franchise gets its live premiere here on Sunday, when the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra performs at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

The orchestra, which features more than 100 musicians and singers, gave its first concert in 2017 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of the game. After the concert proved popular, a worldwide tour was planned for 2018, with performances inParis, London, Milan, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore — and Honolulu.

“Kingdom Hearts” is a popular RPG (role-playing game), with more than 20 million units sold over its 16-year history. Combining aspects of “Final Fantasy,” another sci-fi role-playing-game franchise, with Disney and Pixar characters, it tells the story of ayouth Sora, who journeys through various fantastical worlds confronting the evil Xenahort, or Heartless.

The music will be synced with images from the game, projected onto a big screen onstage in a presentation put together by Tetsuro Nomura, the director of the “Kingdom Hearts” productions. Composer Yoko Shimomura will be in attendance and meet with VIP ticketholders.