Makaha Sons

On June 20th I attended a concert at the Mauna Kea resort that consisted of two hawaiian music style bands. The main band being The Makaha Sons. At first I was quite skeptical about attending this concert because I knew that I had never really enjoyed traditional hawaiian style music. I actually ended up enjoying the experience and I also soon realized how influential the Makaha Sons truly are to hawaiian music of today. Just about everyone who travels to Hawaii hears the song "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawio'ole this is possibly the most popular song ever written by a hawaiian song writer. Israel was the main voice of the Makaha sons up until 1997 when he passed away. The Makaha sons have been around since 1976 and have won countless awards for there accomplishments. Not only are they great musicians they also seem to all have great senses of humor. When they first got on the stage I wasn't sure if I was at a concert or a stand up comedy show they were hilarious. 

Well now for more about the concert. For one thing I was by far the youngest person there I would have to say the average age group that attended the concert was about 60 to 70. The band started playing at about 6:30 so they proceeded to play right through the sunset. They also were set up on a small stage that was right on the ocean so the audience had a beautiful view of the sunset during the concert. Although I was the youngest person there and I felt a little out of place being there I would have to say that the over all experience was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life. The songs that the Makaha sons played were all songs that I had heard before, most of which were not in english. The band kept telling the audience that the songs that they were playing were all from there early albums. They would also tell the audience what each song was about and it seemed like the main topics were special beaches, the ocean in general, or some hula dancer. When you hear a traditional hawaiian song on the radio the odds that its the Makaha sons are very high. The Makaha sons are considered to be the ambassador of Hawaiian music. The Makaha sons now consist of only 3 members but when they had Israel which was up until 1991, the band consisted of John K. Koko on acoustic bass and vocals, Jerome K. Koko on the 12-string guitar and vocals, Louis Moon Kauakahi: 6-string guitar, vocals, and last but not least Israel Kamakawiwo'ole on the ukulele and lead vocals. The concert was a great experience and because of it I have developed a true appreciation for traditional hawaiian music.