FRIDAY-SUNDAY

>> ‘American Idol’ winner Hicks hits Blue Note

Taylor Hicks, the season-five winner of “American Idol,” brings his Southern stylings to Blue Note Hawaii this weekend.

Hicks, who “Idol” judge Randy Jackson praised for bringing a “Joe Cocker-Ray Charles kind of vibe” to his interpretations, won the show when it was at the height of its popularity, with an international audience of nearly 240 million and 64 million votes cast in the finals. A few weeks later, Hicks’ single “Do I Make You Proud,” which he performed during the “Idol” finals, debuted at No. 1 onBillboard’s Hot 100, Pop 100, and Single sales charts, followed by a No. 2 rating on the Billboard 200 for his eponymous album.

The Birmingham, Ala., native’s striking presence — a quirky, awe-shucks manner and graying hair that stood out in the youth-oriented show — also earned him a place in other areas of popular culture, ranging from mention on several television comedies to an Al Yankovic parody.

Though originally known for his blend of Southern blues and R&B, he’s diversified into Broadway, touring with “Grease,” and is currently a headliner in Las Vegas.

>> Musician and activist Michael Franti plays at The Republik

Michael Franti brings his feel-good, activist hip-hop vibe to The Republik Friday.

Since forming his band Spearhead in California nearly 20 years ago, Franti has produced thought-provoking tunes that address a range of social, political and cultural issues. He has also been active in global politics, making the 2005 film “I Know I’m Not Alone” about the turmoil in the Middle East and receiving a human rights award from Global Exchange.

Franti can also get personal, as with “Once A Day,” a song inspired by his son’s diagnosis with a rare kidney disease. He performed the song — encouraging people to hug someone each day — for the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday celebration in 2015. “We thought at first that this disease would tear our family apart because it tore our hearts open, but what ended up happening was that as we bonded together to battle this disease, it actually brought our family closer together,” he said at that event.

His 2008 tune “Say Hey (I Love You)” went twice platinum. His last three albums, “The Sound of Sunshine,” “All People” and “Soul rocker,” have reached No. 5 or higher on Billboard’s U.S. Rock charts.

SATURDAY

>> Isle-born comedian Ogata back home for several shows

President Donald Trump isn’t just providing fodder for Stephen Colbert and American audiences. Hawaii-born comedian Paul Ogata recently completed a tour to Asia and found that audiences there are receptive to jokes about the POTUS as well.

“Everyone I speak to in every country knows that a rough time is ahead for us all,” Ogata said. “They revel in our disruption. … It seems we’re meeting our own doom through our own making, and they like to hear about that.”

Ogata left the islands permanently in 2005 when his career began to blossom. He’s been enjoying life as a traveling comedian — though it always feels great to be coming home, he said — and it’s paying off with his career. This summer, he’ll be shooting a Comedy Central Asia special, the first the network is devoting to a solo comedian.

Then there’s the more unusual experiences he has traveling, like the huge fried worm that he ate as a “local delicacy.”

“They bring it out special for the foreigners,” Ogata said. “I even asked the Malaysian comedian I was traveling with, ‘Do you guys eat this?’ And he said, ‘No, of course not!’ So I feel glad about my life choices.”

THURSDAY-MAY21

>> War — take a little trip, take a little trip

War, one of the original multicultural, multigenre rock bands, drops into Blue Note Hawaii for a gig starting Thursday.

First conceived as a backup band for Eric Burdon of The Animals in the late 1960s, the band combined rock, funk, blues, reggae, jazz, Latin and African influences, producing a wide range of energetic, organic music, from first hit “Spill the Wine,” most of which is performed in spoken-word style, to bass-driven “Low Rider” and happy, reggae-powered tune “Why Can’t We Be Friends.”

Combined with a message that spoke to the turbulence of the era — its name was a facetious reference to the Vietnam War — War has had seven gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards, stringing together a series of top-selling albums (“The World is a Ghetto,” “Deliver the Word,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends”) from 1971 to 1975.

The band has had dozens of members over the year, with only Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan on keyboards and vocals dating back to the original band.