Tag Archives: concert news

Gail Swanson, Elaine Ryan and Sebrina Barron Help Play It Forward

Posted by on April 25, 2011 1 comment
Elaine Ryan

Gail Swanson. Photo by Al Scheck

Play it Forward Concerts presents a Mother’s Day benefit concert for Maui’s Women Helping Women May 8 at Stella Blues Cafe. The show will feature Gail Swanson, Elaine Ryan and Sebrina Barron in a songwriter circle, sharing the stories and inspirations behind their music. All three women are widely known to be prolific songwriters whose work reflects the intensity of their feelings, spark of their intellects and the joy of their spirits.

Play it Forward Concerts is a social entrepreneurship that was inspired by people who are dedicated to helping others despite their personal challenges. Like the film Pay if Forward, instead of paying a favor back, we pay it forward; we repay the rewards in our lives with new good deeds done for new people.

Our Play it Forward philosophy is two-fold: we use music and the arts to raise money for and increase awareness of a variety of causes; at the same time, we invite established artists to help us pay it forward by highlighting up-and-coming musicians, painters, photographers, writers and others.

Elaine Ryan

Gail Swanson, whose charitable heart inspired our mission, is one of  Maui’s most treasured singer/songwriters. She has touched the lives of locals and visitors with her music for more than two decades. She has written and recorded five award-winning CDs. Her most recent album, Simple Truth, features three songs produced by Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers. It also features  guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, John McFee, John Cruz, Hutch Hutchison and others. Swanson’s albums have been nominated for three No Hoku Hanohano awards (Hawaii’s version of the Grammys); her 2000 release, Living in a Movie, won the Hoku award for Best Rock Album of the Year.

Gail will be joined by international indie recording artist Elaine Ryan. The part-time Maui resident is quite successful in her Canadian homeland and we are honored to turn people on to her pristine voice, humble nature and musical storytelling.

“Elaine’s voice is incredible, and I love the way she writes,” said Gail. “Nobody on Maui sounds like her – we are lucky to have her.”

Sebrina Barron. Photo by Joyce Chin

Gail and Elaine will be joined by aspiring singer/songwriter Sebrina Barron, whose fresh voice, insightful songwriting and bubbly spirit makes new fans every time she performs.

“Sebrina has a very special stage presence” Swanson said. “There’s a very genuine, down-to-earth vibe about the way she interacts with the audience – and the way she writes songs and sings – it’s really very endearing.

“It’s great to have an opportunity to showcase local talent while shining a light on a worthy cause like ‘Women Helping Women,’” Gail said. “Plus it’s Mother’s Day. It couldn’t be more perfect.”

Stella Blues will be offering a dinner and show package with a four-course meal for $60; tickets for the show only are $30. Call Stella Blues for reservations (808) 874-3779

For more about the artists, visit their websites: Gail Swanson, Elaine Ryan and Sebrina Barron

Doobies Did Bring Surprises

Posted by on April 2, 2011 No comments
The Doobie Brothers' Patrick Simmons and Willie Nelson.

by Suzanne Kayian

The Doobie Brothers welcomed special guests Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson and Mick Fleetwood to their concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center Friday night, April 1. It was a great show and a ton of fun to see these legendary players share the stage.

The Doobie Brothers' Patrick Simmons and Willie Nelson.

Michael McDonald

Fleetwood Mac's grandmaster, Mick Fleetwood

Electric Willie Nelson

Patrick Simmons, Willie Nelson, Tom Johnston, John McFee and Michael McDonald

Big thanks to Tom Johnston from Willie Nelson

Mick Fleetwood, Willie Nelson, David Choy and Pat Simmons Jr. show their love for Maui local and Doobie Brothers co-founder Patrick Simmons.

Prior to the concert, Pat Simmons sat down with Maui Zan for a chat about touring in support of the Doobie Brothers new album, “World Gone Crazy.” Visit Zan’s Rhythm & Views blog at Maui No Ka Oi Magazine for the full article.

All photos copyright Suzanne Kayian 2011

Are The Doobie Brothers Bringing Surprises

Posted by on March 31, 2011 No comments
One of the original Doobie Brothers, Patrick Simmons, rocks Maui's Whale Day Festival

Friday night’s April Fools Day concert with The Doobie Brothers and War on Maui promises to be a lot of fun. I recently chatted with band co-founder Patrick Simmons for my Rhythm & Views blog at Maui No Ka Oi Magazine.

What I didn’t include in the R&V post: there are unsubstantiated reports that the band has some special guests up its sleeves. Two thoughts immediately come to mind: Willie Nelson and former Doobie Michael McDonald. Both are part-time Maui residents and both perform on The Doobie Brothers’ new album, “World Gone Crazy.”

Guests or no guests, Friday’s concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center‘s outdoor amphitheater promises to be a great time.

Doobies Japan 2009 (1)

Photo copyright: The Doobie Brothers

Steven Tyler Celebrates On Maui

Posted by on March 27, 2011 No comments
Steven Tyler Makawao 10 09

Steven Tyler flew into Maui late Thursday (3/24) night after taping last week’s memorable American Idol elimination show. During the show, Stevie Wonder surprised Tyler by singing “Happy Birthday” (as seen in this YouTube video), while the AI judge was presented with a Peter Max portrait and a cake bearing sparklers.

Max painted a series of portraits of the Aerosmith front man in 2009. Tyler reportedly already owned one piece in the series; but since he now maintains a home in Los Angeles while filming Idol, it was time for a second. (Time for a third but more on that later.)

Tyler, who Tweets — but not a lot — hit the social media site hard after the televised celebration: “IDOL WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD…WHAT AN INCREDIBLE NIGHT,” he said.

Those who have followed Tyler’s career — as well as his plethora of new fans — felt the excitement as  Steven shared his celebration — and his backstage photos with Stevie Wonder — via Twitter.

“BIRTHDAY TOO…PINCH ME PLEASE,” Tyler said.

The rock star/judge/artist then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Maui where he has been a frequent visitor, especially in the past two years. Tyler, who was being particularly tweetie, said: “HEY. IM WHEELS UP ON MY WAY TO BIRTHDAY IN HEAVIN & WATCH THE SUN COME UP ON A TRULY BLESSED CHILD OF GOD THAT STEVIE WONDER SANG HAPPY….” Darn, 140 characters.

Steven landed safely in Kahului and spent Friday out of the public’s eye. He reportedly enjoys painting, jogging and the beach, among other things, when he’s on Maui. He also enjoys spending time in the quaint Upcountry town of Makawao and the bohemian North Shore gem Paia.

Saturday, his actual birthday, Steven browsed Makawao’s boutiques and galleries early in the day before his official birthday celebration got underway.

That evening, Tyler’s plans reportedly included dinner at Mama’s Fish House in Paia with a small group of friends including Mick Fleetwood, who lives on the island when he’s not touring with Fleetwood Mac.

Most people who live on Maui, try to respect local and visiting celebrities; we keep our distance, we don’t show up deliberately at restaurants if we know someone famous will be eating there and only occasionally we say hello if our paths cross.

Steven’s birthday was no different. Maui Zan Tweeted him “Happy Birthday,” told him he would like the Moth show at Casanova Italian Restaurant in Makawao and wished him love, peace and happiness on his special day.

Zan was fairly certain Tyler wasn’t going to show up at the Moth concert, despite the fact they had met there once in 2009. So when Zan’s phone vibrated well into the night, she was startled. She was even more startled that Steven only @mentioned three people on Twitter during his birthday celebration — and one of them was “@MauiZan nice to meet CHU TODAY… ST.”

Nice to meet you too Steven. Maui welcomes you and we are so glad you wrapped up your festivities with one last Tweet.

IamStevenT: “WHAT A GREAT B DAY…SO MANY SHOUT OUTS… IM A LUCKY BOY… DINNER W/ THE ISLANDS FINEST… JUST A LITTLE TAN …ST”

He included this photo of his birthday leis.

Sunday night, Tyler ate a late dinner at Lahaina Grill, also a top-notch restaurant. We’re not certain who he was with Sunday night but as soon as we get word, this story will be updated.

Happy Birthday Steven Tyler. Maui is quite pleased you spend so much time here. You once said, “If I couldn’t live in Boston, I’d live in Maui.” Hmmmm.

Aloha. The Maui Zan crew.

Follow @MauiZan

Steven Tyler portrait courtesy of Peter Max, Licensed by Peter Max

Lukas Nelson Week on Maui

Posted by on March 14, 2011 No comments
Lukas Autry Nelson, Kuau, Hawaii, March 2011

Lukas Nelson recently took two weeks off from his busy touring schedule to return home, to Maui.

While here, he graciously agreed to an interview. He also agreed to visit my daughter’s school, of which he is an alumni.

I wrote about him at my Rhythm & Views entertainment blog, I attended the school performance/visit, went to his show at Charley’s and capped the weekend off with a party at Makena Beach.

Lukas is extremely talented and totally humble. There is so much I want to share about this great young man. However, I have spent way too much time away from my bed this weekend.  More to come. Thanks for stopping by.

Dave Bauss Turns Me On

Posted by on February 23, 2011 No comments

It never fails. David Bauss always turns me on to cool music. It could be any genre — from Grateful Dead-flavored shows to DJs from New York City — getting a tip from Milagro’s top bartender always leads to a great show. I ran into him the other night and by the next day, I was a fan of DJ Sabo, who is playing at Charley’s Restaurant and Saloon in Paia March 4. Check out my Rhythm & Views blog. And celebrate Mardis Gras with Bauss, Sobo and friends.

Bass Player Theme Continues

Posted by on February 21, 2011 No comments
Kanekoa bass-man Shawn Michael rockin' Halloween at Longhi's

The recent post about Wolf received such great feedback, I thought I’d dig up another cool bass player photo. You know what they say about positive reinforcement. It works. Thanks for checking out my work. This photo was taken the first time I saw Kanekoa — one of my favorite bands. It was Halloween 2010 at Longhi’s in Wailea. Shawn Michael was particularly wicked on the bass that night. Boo!

Kanekoa bass-man Shawn Michael rockin' Halloween at Longhi's

Whale Days 2010 Remembered – aka the Wolf Story

Posted by on February 18, 2011 No comments

Tomorrow morning, February 19, 2011, Maui’s music fans will converge in Kihei for the annual Whale Days Festival. Every year, the best in Maui music is represented at this open-air, family friendly, free concert. As MauiZan prepares for this year’s festival — we’re especially looking forward to Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers with Gail Swanson – we take a look back at last year’s event.

Anuhea was scheduled to play along with many other great musicians including John Cruz – a MauiZan fave.

The Tuesday before the festival, we saw a guy singing and playing guitar at Moana Cafe‘s open mic night. His talent was above and beyond most we had seen trip through the Paia café.

“Who’s that?” I whispered to my pseudo step-son, Chris. “His name is Wolf,” Chris said. “He’s one of the best bass players on the island.”

Let me share something with those of you who do not know Chris. He is a musician and he has very high standards when it comes to other musicians. Rarely do you hear him say something or someone is good, let alone, “one of the best on the island.”

When I inquired as to what band Wold performed in, Chris said, “He’s in a lot of bands.”

So I put it in the back of my head to find out who this Wolf was; I thought he was great and in light of Chris’s comments, I knew there was something special about this guy.

The following Saturday, we woke up early, rushed down Olinda Road and headed to Kihei to try to catch Anuhea at Whale Days. The Makawao-native was just breaking big and I had never seen her perform. We were running late and knew we had missed her starting time.

We zipped down a side-street, found a place to park — like magic — and hit the pavement toward the beach park. As we approach the grandstand, we see a young woman on stage. “Is that her?” I ask. Hearing a familiar tune, you hear four voices say, “Yeah, it is,” as we work our way to the front of the stage.

We find an open spot stage left, plop down our bags — and kids — whip out the cameras and get in position to shoot some photos. Enjoying the music but not yet looking up, I take my first glance at the stage.

Whoa, the guy playing bass with Anuhea is Wolf, the guitarist who sang at Moana Tuesday night. “Is that the guy we saw the other night,” I asked my 9-year-old daughter. “Yeah, it is,” she responds. Thankfully, her eyes are better than mine.

Anuhea, Wolf and the band played a selection of songs from her début album — and they sounded great. We were so thankful we had made it to the festival in time to catch the show.

Whale Day rocks with Anuhea and Wolf.

We were able to watch John Cruz, which was great as always, but had to leave the festival a little early; we had tickets to Ozomatli at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater. We head to Kahului, not having time to return to Olinda, and converge on the MACC. We indulge in some coffee — kind of necessary, it was a long day — just before the “5 minutes to show” announcement.

Cutting it to the wire, we enter the theater just as the opening act takes the stage. Erin Smith of the Throwdowns was expected to play solo.

We find our seats, take a nice breath, look at the stage and what do we see? Wolf! He was accompanying Smith during her opening set.

One week earlier, I had never seen this guy perform. Now, three times within five days, there he was, on-stage with some of the most popular female artists on the island.

We’re not certain if Wolf will be with Anuhea on stage at Whale Days 2011. It would be nice, but he has so many gigs these days, we’ll forgive his absence — if we must.

Love you Pacific Whale Foundation and all the artists who support this great event.

Distracted by Willie's Haircut

Posted by on May 24, 2010 No comments
willie 2 edit

Willie Nelson’s Haircut Takes My Mind Off The Music

As I prepared for my next Rhythm & Views blog, I began thinking about all of the things happening this past weekend on Maui. Slightly Stoopid was in Lahaina — and on my plane flight back from California. Jim Gaffigan was at the MACC — and on some plane flight from the Mainland to Maui. And The Reflectacles were going to play two shows — Friday night at Stella Blues and Saturday night at Charley’s — apparently flying in all the way from sunny Los Angeles.

I managed to make it to the MACC and Charley’s, hoping that a great blog idea would find its way into my brain before Sunday arrived.

I saw a good comedy show and several great bands between May 21-23; but the one thing that will always make the weekend stand out in my mind had nothing to do with comedy or a rock concert.

For me, the weekend — specifically, Saturday night at Charley’s — will always be memorable because it was the day I first saw Willie Nelson without his long braids.

Yes, Willie cut his hair. I thought of describing it like McDonald’s without the Golden Arches, Snoop Dogg not stoned or Courtney Love with a good attitude — but none of those capture the wallop upside my head when I spotted Willie without his long locks.

Maybe Bret Michaels without his bandanna would meet my needs.

As my mind processed the reality — it’s just hair, Zan — I think back on the music. There was some good stuff going down Saturday night in Maui’s little North Shore hippie town.

The evening opened with the Sugarcane String Band whose mix of bluegrass, country, rock, island and blues had people dancing and singing along as if they were listened to their favorite classic rock act.

Next up was Folk Uke, a duo that has not forgotten the importance of humor in music. The one song people kept telling me about, “S*#t Makes The Flowers Grow,” did not disappoint. With lyrics that explore the life-purpose of less-than-desirable people in our lives — Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson’s music has helped them carve out a niche of their own while growing up in the shadow of two very famous musician fathers, Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson.

You can read about The Reflectacles in my Rhythm & Views blog on Maui No Ka Oi Magazine’s website. They were pretty great on their own, and rocked when Willie joined them for a set.

By the way, Willie wails on the electric guitar. Having only seen him play his acoustic “Trigger,” I was delighted to see that Nelson can break out the rock chops on demand.

What a rock star, braids or no braids! His kids and their friends aren’t to shabby either.

You can find more information on The Reflectacles, Folk Uke and Sugarcane String Band on their respective MySpace. Facebook and web pages.

Maui's Anuhea, Gail Swanson and The Throwdowns Among Na Hoku Nominees

Posted by on April 15, 2010 No comments
Anuhea

Anuhea, The Throwdowns and Gail Swanson are among the 2010 finalists for The Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Anueah Jenkins was nominated in the Most Promising Artist of the Year category along with Rodney Cazimero, Kolohe Kai, Kulewa and Alvin Okami. The Maui native’s debut album, “Anuhea,” also was nominated for Contemporary Album of the Year along with Cecilio and Kapono’s ”C & K,” Iolani and Natalie Ai Kamauu’s ”Love & Peace and Unity,” Nohelani Cypriano’s “Pulelehua..My Precious Butterfly,” and Don Tiki’s “South of the Boudoir.”

Rock Album of the Year nods went to Gail Swanson for “Simple Truths,” The Throwdowns for “Don’t Slow Down,” Kona for “Acoustic-Me,” David Tamaoka for “Canefield Hero” and Linus! for “White Marks on a White Wall.”

More on the Na Hoku awards nominees, ceremony and music festival in the next edition of Maui Zan’s blog.