Aloha Mai Kakou!

Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week, incorporating the Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival and the Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival, is a week-long event celebrating Hawaiian music and the Hawaiian steel guitar. The annual event is held at the Royal Grove Stage at Helumoa, the royalty playground at the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī.

The 2024 annual event was held at the Royal Hawaiian Center's Royal Grove stage during the week of July 8-13, 2024.

Monday through Thursday evening concerts featured one-hour performances by different Hawaiian steel guitar artists and ensembles. Alan Akaka and The Islanders, Pōmaika‘i & Mālie, Masami Sato & Makana, and NextGen steel guitarists Isaac, Enosa, Ever, Makamae, and Isabella, performed this year.

The 3^rd Annual Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival was presented on Friday, July 12, 2024, from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM and featured steel guitarists Shinichi Kakiuchi, Yukio Katagiri, Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi, Masami "Matt" Kobayashi, Paul Okubo, Masami Sato & Makana, and Noriko and Shuji Tomita, all from Japan.

The Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival's Saturday ho‘olaule‘a performances featured various Hawaiian steel guitar artists and bands in two performance segments. The first segment was presented at 11:00 AM - 2:20 PM and the second segment began at 4:00 PM and ran through 6:30 PM. The split program was designed to provide festival guests a break between the festival program and avoid what might be the hottest part of the afternoon.

Emcee for the Monday-Thursday concerts was Monte McComber. The Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival's emcees were Masami Sato and Shuji Tomita. Saturday's Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival was hosted by Kimo Kahoano.

The event was presented free to the public by the Royal Hawaiian Center and was produced by the Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE™).

Both Friday's Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival and Saturday's Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival programs were livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Access to the livestreams was via the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase Facebook Page or the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase YouTube Channel where all livestreams are archived for demand viewing.