SATURDAY
>> Family-conscious hip-hop duo appears at museum
The Reminders, a musical duo that blends hip-hop, reggae and soul with a message of empowerment, headline a musical evening at Hawaii State Art Museum on Saturday.
The duo consists of Antoine Zamundu, aka “Big Samir,” who was born into a military family and lived in Brussels and Congo before getting his music career started in Colorado; and vocalist Aja Black, a New York native. They released their debut album “Recollect” in 2008, which led to an international tour with Lauryn Hill. They’ve also opened for Snoop Dogg, Fishbone, Nas, Mos Def and others.
The married couple are family-oriented in their music, including their children in their videos and bringing them to their performances. Their songs are often concerned with fighting oppression through memories of past injustice, the importance of friendship and the pain of loss.
The couple are preparing to release a third album, “Out of the Woods.”
Also performing that evening will be Hawaii artists Izik, Punahele and DJ Jeanne P.
THE REMINDERS
>> Where: Hawaii State Art Museum
>> When: 4-7 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 808ne.ws/ reminders
SATURDAY
>> Ocean fest focuses on climate change
Head up to the North Shore on Saturday to celebrate the ocean and learn about climate change at the eighth annual North Shore Ocean Fest.
The free event, titled “Climate Change: How It’s Affecting Our Ocean,” features educational booths as well as music, hula, art, poetry, crafts, food vendors and four raffle drawings. Keiki especially might enjoy a visit with Big Mama, a life-sized inflatable humpback whale, which they can walk inside of to learn about their internal anatomy. Experts from NOAA Hawaiian Island National Marine Sanctuary will be on hand to provide further information.
The festival also has been holding artwork and poetry contests for students, who will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the day.
Organizers stress that the festival is a plastic-free event and ask that visitors bring their own water bottles. New ones will also be available for purchase. The North Shore Ocean Fest is a kind of early celebration of World Oceans Day, which is traditionally observed on June 8.
NORTH SHORE OCEAN FEST 2019
>> Where: Turtle Bay Resort
>> When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: turtlebayresort.com
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
>> Symphony finale features island favorites
The Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra closes out the season this weekend with the return of Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich and guest conductor Naoto Otomo.
Hadelich’s Hawaii debut in 2015 earned an extended standing ovation after just one movement of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, and his return a year later with Lalo was no less pleasing. He won the 2016 Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for a recording of with the Seattle Symphony, and last year was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America. It is the continuation of an extraordinary story of a violinist whose career was nearly cut short by a fire at his family’s farm in Italy.
Hadelich will play Beethoven’s majestic “Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61,” a piece that perfectly suits his silvery tone, which has drawn comparisons to Golden Age violinists Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin.
Otomo, who has held conducting positions with virtually all the major orchestras in Japan, has been a welcome presence on the local stage. He conducted the opening concert of the then-new Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra in 2012 and has returned several times since. He will lead the orchestra in two particularly colorful symphonic works inspired by the Greek mythological love stories: Albert Roussel’s “Bacchus et Ariane, Suite No. 2,” taken from a myth about the woman who is stranded on the island of Naxos, marries the god of wine and becomes a constellation; and Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2,” which is about the goatherd and shepherdess who discover love in their youth, but then endure separation and hardship until their joyful reunion.
If you prefer your orchestra outdoors, the symphony will be giving its annual Symphony in the Park concert at Kailua District Park Pavilion at 5 p.m. Friday. Admission is free for the pops program.
BEETHOVEN AND RAVEL
>> Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: $34-$92
>> Info: 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
SUNDAY
>> Guitar virtuoso enhances instrument’s sound
Guitarist Andy McKee and ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro have something in common. Both of them were respected but perhaps under-recognized genuises who burst onto the scene with YouTube videos.
McKee, who performs for one night at Blue Note Hawaii, got his breakout moment with his 2006 tune “Drifting.” He is now considered the creator of a new genre of guitar playing, which is sometimes called drifting, featuring an astounding array of sounds and techniques. They’re all produced on acoustic instruments, either an acoustic guitar or the harpguitar – a guitar with a second set of strings, strung along a curved, harplike neck, that vibrate sympathetically with the regular strings.
A native of Kansas, McKee was initially attracted to heavy metal music, which perhaps accounts for his interest in creating a range of sounds on the guitar. He’ll use both hands to pluck the strings, sometimes using his right (plucking) hand up on the fingerboard, creating contrapuntal melodic lines. He’ll use the body of a guitar as a drum, slapping and rapping on it to create different percussive effects.
His performances are as much a visual spectacle as they are an audible treat, with his songs often taking listeners on fanciful voyages through different timbres and colors.
ANDY MCKEE
Presented by Blue Note Hawaii
>> Where: Outrigger Waikiki
>> Cost: $25-$35
>> When: 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday
>> Info: 777-4890, bluenotehawaii.com
For additional events, visit staradvertiser.com/calendar.
