![hawaii music scene hawaii music scene](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R1GPK4Mx_lg/maxresdefault.jpg)
![hawaii music scene hawaii music scene](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/573d5cfe2eeb81a86915bfa7/1556159501307-3V5J0J2JJ37WUPMRRB0U/manao+co.jpg)
Great news! South Seas has just reissued an LP of the songs and voice of one of Hawaii's great singers, the late Lena Machado.
HAWAII MUSIC SCENE SERIES
Space limitations do not permit me to tell you more now, but suffice it to say, the best evidence of the success of our concert series is the fact that it has inspired a long list of imitators which is precisely what we had hoped would happen. Not every concert has been a box-office success, but every one has been of good quality and illustrative of the wide range of Hawaiian musical styles and traditions. One of the by-products of this concert was the research done and the article written and published by HMF on the origin and development of the slack key guitar, work which might not have been done otherwise. We proved that a uniquely Hawaiian style of music was marketable so much so that slack key guitar music has become more popular than ever.
![hawaii music scene hawaii music scene](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e7e343_de691ace142a4e268277783395570ca6~mv2.jpg)
Six months later responding to popular demand we held another concert with similar results. The Concert Hall was packed, the musicians considered it an unusual opportunity – the fact of the matter is most had never performed on a concert stage–and the audience loved it. It featured the slack key guitar, the first time that an entire concert was devoted to the unique style of playing. And thirdly, we needed a means to raise our own funds, for we were convinced that good Hawaiian music was marketable and that we had to prove it at the box office first. Secondly, we also wanted to demonstrate the high quality and variety of Hawaiian music and that when played well, it was as exciting and listenable as any other kind of music. First, we wanted to display Hawaiian music in a concert hall with its advantages of a large seating capacity, excellent acoustics and lighting, an atmosphere which would challenge the musician to do his best, on the one hand, and the audience to offer its most critical appreciation, on the other. We had several objectives in mind when we began the series. Each of the programs has been different featuring, for example, kihoʻalu or slack key guitar, the steel guitar and leo kiʻekiʻe or falsetto singing. Since then we have produced more than a dozen concerts in Honolulu and on the Neighbor Islands of Hawaii, Kauai and Maui. In 1972 we initiated our now popular series of Hawaiian music concerts at the Honolulu Concert Hall. Lest there be others like him among our readers, let me tell you about one of our modest achievements. But, I was disturbed by the fact that this very observant and well-meaning visitor had not been able to notice the changes and results of our work. Of course, I told him that we had already established The Hawaiian Music Foundation and that through our efforts the situation had indeed improved. He then proceeded to burn my ears and urged that something be done to save Hawaiian music by, among other things, establishing an organization to foster and develop Hawaiian music. However, I was surprised, since he did not know of my involvement with HMF, when he said he needed to talk to someone about the 'sad' state of Hawaiian music and entertainment. He did not mention what he wanted to talk about, but I assumed it was about a business matter. I was rudely reminded of the need for this kind of evaluation not too long ago when I received a phone call from a Greek shipping official who asked if he could come and talk with me. For example, how can one tell whether our series of concerts over the past four years have really stimulated interest in Hawaiian music? In any event, an honest attempt must be made and what I propose to do in this and future issues of Haʻilono Mele is to give you a kind of monthly 'impact statement' on the activities of HMF.
![hawaii music scene hawaii music scene](http://www.kauaimusicscene.com/images/artists/lg/hi-legends-mike-k-artist-122-0-47665.jpg)
This is not always an easy question to answer, especially when the results tend to be qualitative rather than quantitative. So the question is: to what extent are we fulfilling these avowed objectives? To put it another way, do we have any results to show for the time and money we have expended? Have we made a difference–an impact on the Hawaiian music scene? As you know, the main purposes of The Hawaiian Music Foundation are 1) to perpetuate, develop and promote Hawaiian music, 2) to improve the quality of Hawaiian music and 3) to enhance the standing and welfare of the Hawaiian music community. Any organization worth its salt must constantly evaluate its efforts in order to determine whether it is achieving its purposes.