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Kelly Boy Delima of Kapena.
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Tickets go on sale today for the Original Kapena 40th Anniversary Celebration — a reunion of Kapena founding members Kelly “Kelly Boy” De Lima, Tivaini “Tiva” Tatofi and Teimomi “Timo” Tatofi — Aug. 31 at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell.
De Lima and the Tatofi brothers founded Kapena in 1984 with the goal of representing Kaimuki High School in the KIKI “Brown Bags to Stardom” talent contest. The trio took top honors at Kaimuki and represented their school at the statewide finals, where they didn’t win, but embarked on careers as working musicians that were so successful they never had to work “day jobs.”
The Tatofi brothers eventually returned to Tonga to take on family responsibilities there, and Kapena evolved into a group consisting of De Lima and his three children. Tiva’s son, Josh Tatofi, has been a major name in local music since 2014.
The Tatofi brothers returned to Hawaii for a Kapena reunion with De Lima at the Shell in 2015. Expect tickets for this one to go fast.
Visit hifinest.com/events Opens in a new tab.
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John Berger, staff writer
