Welina i Kīkā Kila Livestream
The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase™ presents livestreamed performances of your favorite steel guitar masters in live or prerecorded performances via the Internet. Livestreaming is available from this website and the Showcase's Facebook Page. Livestreams may also be available at alternate sites and/or may be shared by viewers.
There are several types of livestream broadcasts. Originally, the first few categories were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of extending the reach of the Hawaiian steel guitar when live steel guitar festivals were paused.
Livestream Steel Guitar Saturday features steel guitar masters in concert along with prerecorded videos of NextGen steel guitarists in a two-hour live program.
The Livestream Kanikapila Showcase features two hours of live virtual kanikapila instead of steel guitar performances. Grab your favorite instrument and play along with the all-star band.
The Open Stage Showcase features prerecorded videos submitted by amateur and professional steel guitarists worldwide, performing selections of their choice. This provides an opportunity for steel guitarists to present their uncompensated performances for viewing by a worldwide audience. For further information, please see the Open Stage Showcase Page.
Festival Showcases feature livestream broadcasts of various live Hawaiian Steel Guitar festival Ho‘olaule‘a programs produced by HIMELE in the State of Hawai‘i.
All Showcase presentations can be viewed without charge. If you'd like to support the showcase, you can make a contribution to HIMELE or through our virtual tip jar links posted on the Events page.
Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcases are presented free to the public by Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE).
Funding for Showcases during calendar year 2022 was provided in part by Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Kūkulu Ola Program, administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
Beginning in December 2020 funding for showcases was and continues to be provided in part by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Additional Showcase support is provided by the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation.
As of March, 2023, Livestream Steel Guitar Saturdays, Livestream Kanikapila, and Open Stage Showcases are paused. Beginning in 2024, only select Festival ho‘olaule‘a concerts will be livestreamed with plans to livestream all festival concerts beginning in 2025, budget permitting.
Livestream Archives
Facebook has announced a new policy to remove livestreamed videos older than 30 days beginning in February, 2025. After this date, videos older than 30 days will not be available. This includes all livestream broadcasts originating from the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's Facebook page. In some instances, livestream videos have been uploaded after the fact due to issues with the live broadcast, and these videos may remain available although they will not be linked to from the Gallery.
The policy states as follows:
"Facebook is rolling out changes to its storage policy for Facebook Live videos. Starting February 19, Facebook Live videos will be retained for 30 days by default on your Facebook Page or profile, during which you can view, delete, or download the video. After 30 days, you will no longer be able to access your Live videos and they will automatically be removed from your Page and deleted from our servers."
LIvestreamed videos will continue to be available on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's YouTube channel. Links posted for archived livestream broadcasts will be to the YouTube channel videos only.
