Call it the bluegrass or country music of Hawaii. Slack-key guitar is finger-pickin' folk music, pure and simple. It's the stuff people play at their backyard jams and it’s the music they heard their parents and grand parents playing. Slack-key is not twangy like country of bluegrass, however. The sound is a lot sweeter and nahe nahe (that means smooth and easy in Hawaiian). A lot of slack key songs have roots in Hawaiian history and all have some kind of story behind them. The name slack key is quite literal. Musicians "slacken" or loosen the strings to create specific tunings, some of which remain family secrets held closely from generation to generation. Naturally, Hawaii is the best place to hear slack-key guitar. And the annual traveling Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival is one of the premier providers of this lovely aural elixir. Concerts are free and held all over the state. Bring a chair, a cooler, a beach mat, and some shades / sunscreen. Most events are held in parks or in public places where kids can run around. Its good to call ahead and ask who's playing when; you *definitely* want to hear Ledward Ka'apana if he's going to be appearing. And Jeff Peterson, who regularly appears in the festivaly, plays some of the most interesting contemporary slack-key, a style that fuses jazz chord progressions with slack-key tunings and stylings. The Oahu stop of the festival is next Sunday at Kapiolani Park (map).

Additional Slack Key Links
* Dancing Cat Records (a label that is also one of the best places to buy slack-key music)
* Taro Patch, a slack-key guide and community site
* Chart of slack-key tunings from George Winston, founder of Dancing Cat Records

—Alex, 08/13/06