Every June, audiences attend this free outdoor concert to listen to master performers sing about Hawaii’s green mountains and hidden waterfalls. Ki hoalu music, said to be “drawn from the heart and soul out through the finger,” often focuses on fond childhood memories of ohana (family). “We didn’t have electricity, television, even much radio,” says guitar legend Ledward Kaapana, who grew up in a tiny coastal village. “So we entertained ourselves. You could go to any house, and everybody was playing music.”

The 175-year-old musical tradition began with Spanish and Mexican cowboys, recruited by King Kamehameha III to teach locals how to wrangle cattle. They brought guitars to play around the campfires, and the instruments intrigued the paniolos (Hawaiian herders). They adapted the guitars by “slacking,” or loosening, the strings to create unique sounds and rhythms. Families passed the practice down through the generations. Youngsters studied slack-key guitar by listening to their elders singing on the lanai under a bright moon. “Slack-key has always been a family affair,” says Keoki Kahumoku, who learned from his father, George. “It’s important to pass it onto the next generation to keep the music alive.”

The art form verged on extinction until the 1960s and ’70s, when the Hawaiian cultural revival saw slack-key masters—such as Sonny Chillingworth, Leland “Atta” Isaacs, Leonard Kwan, Raymond Kane, and the most influential player in the slack-key renaissance, Phillip “Gabby” Pahinui—repopularize the style. Recordings by New Age musician George Winston brought slack-key into the mainstream.

“Today, the slack-key audience is growing fast,” says island music producer Milton Lau, who started the Ki hoalu Festival on Oahu 25 years ago and expanded it to Maui nine years later. “Slack-key is a true folk art,” Milton adds. Unlike Grandma’s quilt, however, this kind wins Grammy Awards—one in 2005, another in ’06, and a third in ’07.

Newcomers now share the stage with Cyril Pahinui (Gabby’s son), Dennis Kamakahi, Bob Brozman, Herb Ohta Jr., Ozzie Kotani, and other modern-day greats, often infusing their personal styles into the genre. The music still reflects a down-home attitude—played informally and impromptu. Settle into the outdoor amphitheater against a backdrop of purple mountains and fluttering palm trees and the sounds of ki hoalu will take you deep into the heart and soul of Hawaii.

Tune In
• The Ki hoalu Festival will be held this year on Sunday, June 24, at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center; 808/242-7469 or mauiarts.org.

• If you miss Maui’s festival, catch regular performances by George Kahumoku Jr. and other players in the Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert Series at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua; slackkey.com.

• Find other slack-key performances and festivals nationwide at mele.com.

• For info on purchasing the Grammy-winning album Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Masters and other slack-key recordings, visit dancingcat.com.

• Every June, George and fellow artists teach slack-key skills at the Annual Maui Slack Key Guitar Workshop; e-mail george@kahumoku.com.

ALSO: An interview with George Winston.