‘He wanted to have this huge birthday party’ Willie K had dreamed of a big party for his 60th birthday. He had always enjoyed celebrating birthdays, and Willie wanted to make this year special. “He wanted to have this huge birthday party,” explained his sister Rae Kahaiali’i. “We were really[…]
By Wayne Harada, Special to the Honolulu Star Advertiser It’s time for the 2016 Waynie Awards, this column’s annual retrospective of the past year: >> Entertainer of the Year: A posthumous nod to Jimmy Borges, the jazz giant who died May 30 at age 80. He lived his last year[…]
By John Berger for the Honolulu Star Advertiser At the time he was general manager of the famed Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, Marco Olivari was honeymooning in Waikiki when he learned the company would be opening a club in Honolulu. Soon afterward he was named G.M. of[…]
By Wayne Harada for the Honolulu Star Advertiser. When New Orleans and New York favorite Davell Crawford teamed up with Hawaii native Willie K Monday night (Sept. 12) at the Blue Note Hawaii club, expectation and uncertainty were common denominators. Crawford and Willie were willing participants in a theoretical[…]
By JON WOODHOUSE, For The Maui News Willie K’s first BBQ Blues Festival was one of the highlights of 2013, and it looks like the second annual event coming up on Jan. 11 will be even more memorable. Featuring headliners Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top and Mississippi blues legend[…]