Keola Beamer and Jeff Peterson

Keola Beamer’s contributions to Hawaiian slack-key guitar (kī-hō‘alu) during the 1970s sparked public interest in the style and launched a statewide revival of the tradition. His 1978 release Honolulu City Lights is the best-selling recording in the history of Hawaiian music. Today, Beamer remains one of Hawaii’s premier singer-songwriters, arrangers, composers, and masters of Hawaiian slack-key guitar.

Born and raised in upcountry Maui, Jeff Peterson mastered the paniolo (cowboy) guitar tradition and became accomplished in multiple guitar styles, including classical and jazz, which has allowed him to develop a unique and transcendent voice on the guitar while remaining deeply rooted in the traditions of his Hawaiian heritage.