SEPT. 9-10
>> Native Americans to hold annual powwow at Ala Moana park
The Honolulu Intertribal Powwow returns to Honolulu this weekend, offering the chance to observe a variety of dances performed by Native Americans visiting from the mainland as well as those living in the islands. This year the event takes place at Ala Moana Beach Park, as Thomas Square is undergoing renovation.
This is the 43rd annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow, which began in 1974 as a way for Native Americans to celebrate their culture. Many had moved here after being stationed here for military service or for job oreducational opportunities.
43RD ANNUAL HONOLULU INTERTRIBAL POWWOW
>> Where: Ala Moana Beach Park
>> When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: honoluluintertribalpowwow.com
Some of the dances that will be featured include the Northern-style warrior dance, in which the dancer’s outfit features the feathers of an eagle, and the athletic Fancy Dance, which, appropriately enough for Hawaii, represents rainbow spirits. Both of those dances are for men, whereas women have dances featuring buckskin or cloth attire as well as a dress decorated with jingles to scare away evil spirits.
Providing the beat for the dancers will be the Los Angeles-based drum group the Wildhorse Singers, made up of members from many tribes, and 808 NDNZ, a Hawaii group that has been performing for more than 20 years.
SEPT. 11
>> Chamber music season kicks off with artful relic
Chamber Music Hawaii launches its 36th season Monday at Windward Community College with a concert that combines music, art and local history.
The concert, which will be repeated a week later at Doris Duke Theatre, features University of Hawaii-Manoa keyboard professor Tommy Yee playing a harpsichord that was commissioned by Gertrude Roberts, a longtime music professor at UH.
CHAMBER MUSIC HAWAII
With special guest Tommy Yee
>> Where: Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Monday
>> Cost: $30
>> Info: 489-5038, chambermusichawaii.org
>> Note: Program repeats at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theatre
The instrument is famous for the colorful Mexican-style artwork on its lid painted by Jean Charlot, who taught art at UH for more than 30 years starting in the late 1940s. The instrument had fallen into disrepair since Roberts’ death in 1995, although its metal soundboard — builder John Challis was revolutionary in his use of modern materials in his instrument — enabled it to stay in tune for 20 years. The instrument was fully restored two years ago and is now the property of the Honolulu Museum of Art.
Yee will perform Bach’s popular “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5,” which is famous for its virtuosic solo cadenza on the harpsichord and its playful interaction with solo violin and flute, and British composer John Rutter’s lovely “Suite Antique,” which was inspired by Brandenburg 5. Chamber Music Hawaii musicians will join him in the concert.
SEPT. 13
>> Stars of WWE bring the show to Honolulu
Wrestling fans, unlock the chokehold you have on the TV and head over to Blaisdell Arena on Wednesday to get your licks in. World Wrestling Entertainment is bringing its WWE Live show to town.
WWE LIVE
>> Where: Blaisdell Arena
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
>> Cost: $20-$135
>> Info: (800) 745-3000, ticketmaster.com
The organization is known for its televised “Smackdown” and “RAW” events and the over-the-top braggadocio of many of its stars, not to mention no-holds-barred action that sometimes strays out of the ring. Get ready to boo villains like AJ Styles, center, who just won WWE’s U.S. Championship in July, or cheer on Randy Orton, right, a 13-time world champion, and Shinsuke Nakamura, a longtime star in Japan.
Other wrestlers coming include Canadian Kevin Owens, winner of three WWE titles; Jinder Mahal; the members of New Day; Sami Zayn; Naomi; and Natalya.
WWE was one of the key stops for former Hawaii resident Dwayne Johnson on his path to movie stardom, so, who knows, these fighters might light up screens or stages in the future. Orton has already appeared on the TV show “Shooter,” the comedy “That’s What I Am” and the action film “12 Rounds 2: Reloaded.”
SEPT. 14
>> Keola Beamer joins Kapono for talk story, performance
Keola Beamer doesn’t perform on Oahu nearly enough. The award-winning Maui-based musician, a member of a celebrated musical family in Hawaii, is one of the more popular Hawaiian artists on the mainland, regularly scheduling tours there.
“ARTIST TO ARTIST”
Hosted by Henry Kapono with special guest Keola Beamer
>> Where: Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, 2335 Kalakaua Ave.
>> When: 6:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday
>> Cost: $25-$65
>> Info: 777-4890, bluenotehawaii.com
So it will be a special moment when Beamer joins Henry Kapono at Blue Note Hawaii on Thursday as part of Kapono’s Artist to Artist series, in which Kapono and his guest talk story about life and music and career as well as play some of the guest’s tunes. Expect a fresh, lively conversation. Although Kapono and Beamer have both been major figures in the renaissance of Hawaiian music over the last 40 years or so, they played together for the first time only in 2014. They toured together in 2016.
Beamer is best known for his composition “Honolulu City Lights” and is one of the more creative slack-key guitarists you’ll find. For his 2006 Grammy-nominated album “Ka Hikina o ka Hau (The Coming of the Snow),” he used slack-key tunings to play works by classical Western composers such as Stravinsky, Satie and Ravel. His last album, 2012’s “Malama Ko Aloha (Keep Your Love),” which also was nominated for a Grammy, featured jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer, Native American flautist R. Carlos Nakai and local vocalist Raiatea Helm.
Beamer has won five Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts.