Steel Guitar Sundays

Edited by Jennifer L. Price

Outrigger Reef on the Beach has introduced its newest musical series, Steel Guitar Sundays, a backyard style, kick-back kind of affair with generous portions of music, chatting and fun.

Offered from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at the Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar, Steel Guitar Sundays features seminars and music by some of Hawaii's finest steel guitarists including Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Bobby Ingano and Casey Olsen. Other steel guitarists are invited to bring their instruments and jam with the featured performers on Waikiki Beach.

Steel Guitar Sundays is the latest in a series of musical events sponsored by Outrigger Hotels & Resorts as part of its ongoing support of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian Music. Outrigger also sponsors the Aloha Friday Luncheons at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, periodic workshops on the Hawaiian nose flute and ukulele, the annual Ledward Kaapana Aloha Acoustic Workshop, and the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

The steel guitar and the banjo are thought to be the only musical instruments "invented" in what is now the United States. The story goes that a fellow by the name of Joseph Kekuku discovered the sound in the 1890s when he picked up a bolt from a railroad track and slid the metal along the strings of his guitar. Steel guitar gained popularity in the early 1900s, and is part of the family history of many island families, including Outrigger employees who recall family members playing the steel guitar at
home.

"The sound of the steel guitar is so distinctive that even a few notes bring back a flood of memories," said Roy Cordeiro, who oversees sales and marketing for the Outrigger Reef hotel and whose grandfather played the steel guitar. "Steel Guitar is synonymous with a classic era of Hawaii's history, when practically everyone listened to 'Hawaii Calls' on the radio and we lived in a plantation atmosphere. The open-air and beachfront venue at the Shore Bird could not be more perfect for Steel Guitar Sunday."

The next Steel Guitar Sunday will take place on September 9, followed on October 14 and continuing through 2008 at the Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar, one of Waikiki's most popular venues for breakfast, lunch, sunset cocktails and dinner. For reservations, call the Shore Bird Restaurant at 808-922-2887.