FRIDAY
Top acts bring reggae sound to Waikiki Shell
Rock into your holidays with a reggae beat at the Waikiki Shell today, when former Kailua-Kona band Pepper rolls into town with chart-topping band Rebelution and New York trio New Kingston.
Pepper, now based in San Diego, released its seventh album, “Ohana,” earlier this year, which along with its eponymous sixth album released three years ago is seen as a reflection of the maturity of the band — tunes like “The Invite” and “Wait” suggest a seasoned view of the world. Longtime fans continue to crave songs from their earlier releases, like 2004’s “In With the Old,” and the band has remained popular, planning a tour of more than 30 stops in the next three months.
California reggae band and headliner Rebelution, on its “Falling Into Place Hawaii Tour,” takes the stage with new music in hand via its album “Falling Into Place,” a worthy follow-up to 2014’s “Count Me In,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae chart.
“Throughout the entire album, bass lines and guitar licks are crisp and clean, while the melodies are elegantly crafted in this thoughtful, well-defined package,” says a reviewer on topshelfreggae.com. “Falling Into Place” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Reggae Album category this year.
New Kingston, from Brooklyn, consists of brothers Tahir, Courtney Jr. and Stephen Panton. The trio has released albums “In the Streets” (2010) and “Kingston University” (2013).
Where: Waikiki Shell
When: 6 p.m. today
Cost: $39.50-$89.50
Info: ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
The Hawaii State Ballet presents its time-honored “Nutcracker”
If you prefer your “Nutcracker” traditional, get en pointe with Hawaii State Ballet’s production this weekend at Mamiya Theatre.
The ballet school celebrates the 30th anniversary of its production, choreographed by its founder, John Landovsky. It presents the holiday staple in classic style, set in courtly 19th-century Europe.
First performed in 1892 by the Mariensky Ballet in Russia, with music written for the troupe by Tchaikovsky, the music and story of inquisitive child Clara, who has a dreamlike adventure, was popularized in the United States by the 1960s by televised performances of the New York City Ballet. “Nutcracker” is now so beloved that some of Tchaikovsky’s dances, like the stately Waltz of Flowers, the delicate Sugar Plum Fairy dance and the graceful Marzipan dance (pictured), are as familiar as Christmas carols.
The Hawaii State Ballet has helped develop many dancers who have gone on to professional performance careers, including dancer-actors Amanda Schull and Jacquelyn Dowsett, and dancer Romi Beppu, who danced for the Boston Ballet, Ballet West (Salt Lake City) and the American Ballet Theatre (New York) and is the only Hawaii-trained ballerina to be named a principal dancer.
Where: Mamiya Theatre
When: 7 p.m. today, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $20-$36
Info: hawaiistateballet.com or 947-2755
Amy and Willie concerts will wow Oahu audiences
They’ve gone by several names since they started working together in the mid-1990s, but whatever billing they use, Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom and Willie “Willie K” Kahaiali‘i have been the power couple in Hawaiian music for almost two full decades.
Willie was already an island superstar, and she was billed as Amy, when he produced her breakthrough album, “Hawaiian Tradition,” in 1997. Next came the two albums recorded as Amy Hanaiali‘i & Willie K. All three albums won Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in major categories.
In 2000 Amy and Willie resumed successful solo careers, but an Amy & Willie reunion tour in 2004 resulted in a live album that made the final ballot at the 2005 Grammy Awards. Their aptly titled 2014 reunion album, “Reunion,” won a Hoku in 2015.
Expect musical magic this weekend at the Hawaii Theatre, where they’ll give three concerts of holiday music. There’s nothing Amy can’t sing; she studied opera, and her repertoire stretches from Broadway standards to jazz, pop, hapa haole and “backyard” cha-lang-alang music. Willie’s arrangement of “O Holy Night” has been a local favorite ever since he recorded it in 1993; he’s also recorded two Hoku Award-winning full-length Christmas albums, “Willie Kalikimaka” in 1999 and “Willie Wonderland” in 2010, and partnered with Hawaiian Host candy in 2010 for a limited-edition five-song EP, “Hawaiian Host Presents Original Music from Willie K.”
Where: Hawaii Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $57-$72
Info: hawaiitheatre.com or 528-0506
WEDNESDAY
Celebrate with DJ Christa Wittmier
Give a happy sendoff to Christa Wittmier, the DJ and blogger known as Super CW, who is holding a celebration of Honolulu’s nightlife scene that doubles as a retirement party from her position as marketing director for Young’s Market Co.
Wittmier, a prolific chronicler of Honolulu’s nightlife and one of its most involved organizers, has been battling cancer since 2015. After going into remission for a few months, the cancer has returned, prompting her to retire from Young’s — but not from her life as a spirited ally of artists and entertainers in Honolulu.
Super CW is putting on a party that will feature musical acts Verses Undefined, Castle Park, Already Sweaty, aerial performers from Volary Aerial Burlesque, a fashion show, live art and more entertainment.
“For my parties, you can’t come fashionably late because you’ll miss stuff,” she said. “Come early, stay late. It will get weirder as the night goes on.”
Wittmier, a Navy veteran who first came to Hawaii on active duty, worked eight years for Young’s and has been a ubiquitous presence at community events and parties for at least twice that long. Her blog at supercw.com became the go-to source for commentary on Honolulu nightlife early on, paving the way for other bloggers and online entertainment coverage.
A musician since an early age, her DJ skills began to get widespread play about 10 years ago, after she was invited to compete in a contest and won. “It was funny,” she said. “It was a college thing, and I’m this 30-year-old on stage kicking ass.”
Despite her condition, she still feels energetic, recently traveling to New Zealand. She’s been undergoing holistic treatments, which are “keeping me full of life,” she said.
Reflecting on all that she’s accomplished in Hawaii, Wittmier feels gratification. “Can you believe it? That’s so crazy,” she said. “I came here in the Navy, and how did I get to do all that? I know why: It’s because you can be whatever you want to be, and that’s what I wanted to do.”
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Hawaii Events Center, 985 Dillingham Blvd.
Cost: $30; proceeds benefit Wittmier’s treatment fund
Info: supercw.com
