Willie Kahaial’i

For all the years my husband and I have visited Maui we have never heard of Willie K until this last visit. O-​M-​G, you’ve got to incorporate the time in your vacation to go see this outstanding performer and his band. We were totally blown away by Uncle Wille’s guitar playing and singing, not to mention that he is quite the comedian.
The show is held Thursday evenings at the King Kamehameha Golf Club in Wailuku. The buffet dinner starts at 6:30pm and the show at 8:00pm, cost is $ 60 per person for dinner and show or about $ 30 for the show only, very reasonable. Willie K and his band also have a show I believe on Wednesday’s at Mulligan’s On The Blue in Wailea.
During dinner we were entertained by a ukulele player who I believe is the keyboardist in the band. At 8:00pm Uncle Willie and his Garage Blues Band proceeded to blow the roof off the King K ballroom entertaining the audience for over 2 hours with no intermission. Uncle Willie and his band covered a wide variety of music from blues and rock to jazz and traditional Hawaiian. No, he did not play «Tiny Bubbles» but he did play an over-​the-​top rendition of «Hotel California» dedicated to the Eagles Glen Frey. Holy smokes, can his fingers dance on those guitar strings, and his voice is amazing, one you can listen to for hours.
I could go on about how wonderful, outstanding, excellent, over-​the-​top this «out of the box» performer is, but the bottom line is GO SEE THIS SHOW. It does sell out during the high visitation season so make your reservations early.
Many Mahalo’s to Uncle Willie and his Garage Blues Band for a fabulous night of entertainment. We look forward to seeing your show next year.

One of the very best evenings on Maui can now be had at the King Kamehameha Golf Club in Wailuku on Thursday nights with the Willie K dinner and music show. I’ve seen «uncle» a few times before but never as the sole headliner act like the King Kamehameha venue where he performs in the main ballroom which holds around 250 guests. The buffet style prime rib and fresh salmon dinner with trimmings including ahi, poke, cucumber shrimp salad, and a heavenly dessert table is one of the tastiest meals you’ll find around, all served up while being entertained by a very talented ukulele player/​singer. After dinner, Willie K and his Garage Blues Band come out and simply blow the roof off of the place! And blues band really is a misnomer because Willie and the band cover an entire spectrum of Hawaiian, rock, jazz, world and blues all the while delivering a captivating and humorous monologue that will keep you entertained for the entire 2+ hour show. You can bring your dancing shows, too, if you are so inclined. Dinner starts at 6:30PM and for those who don’t have time for food, you can get 8PM show only tix. Check it out, I plan to on a regular basis.

Already a committed Willie K fan (I LOVE his Barefoot Natives stuff with Eric Gilliom), I was ecstatic to find out he was playing on Oahu during my stay. Incidentally the concert was part of the ‘Ke Kani O Ke Kai’ outdoor concert series at the Waikiki Aquatium, and with Diamond Head rising behind the stage and the sound of the waves rolling in on the beach behind us, it was the quintessential Hawaiian experience.
I must say that as much as I love his studio albums and his guitar playing, I was not prepared for how amazing a vocalist he is. ‘Uncle’ Willie K was incredible! Arguably the most entertaining person I have ever seen, he took us on an often hilarious musical journey around the world, which showcased the many influences of this mind-​blowing musician, singer and entertainer.
He can usually be found on Maui; but if you ever have the opportunity to see Willie K… do it! And I agree with previous commenter @Clint U. HANA HOU!

The plan was set. As part of my trip, I had tickets to a «luau» type dinner and show with about 500 other people. The show was Willie K. Being totally out of touch with the Hawaiian music scene I thought…“Ut oh. Another Don Ho impersonator.” I figured I was was going to eat as fast as I could so that when the show started I could slip out before «Tiny Bubbles» started…
The dinner was actually pretty good at the Marriott. As I was finishing my dessert, the lights dimmed for the show to start… and I glanced around picking out my escape route.
What came on stage was a huge bulky Samoan with hair that spread out 3 feet in diameter. As he said in his subsequent monolog, if you were on a bus and he boarded it, you would get off the bus and wait for the next one. As he talked to warm up the audience he was actually pretty funny. Then he started to play.
WOW. He played the guitar with a bass player and drummer. That was it. Yet, his playing filled the song… strumming and playing solos that seemed to be simultaneous and continuous. He was doing riffs with full cords that most guitarists would have trouble with single notes. He played a range of pop, oldies, folk, country. His solos were a match to any professional musician on the circuit today.
In the middle of his set, he then said he was an out of the box musician… and certainly he looked the part. But then… he started to sing opera with a modern arrangement. Yes… this was way out of the box… and his voice was impeccable. A purist would probably argue his voice wasnt the best that the Met had to offer, but I have sat through enough operas to know he would at least qualify to audition at the Met.
His 1.5 hour set just whizzed by. His skills as a guitarist were some of the best I have ever seen, bar none (I was an usher at the Greek Theater for 3 years and saw the world’s best musicians there) His voice had had incredible range in range and in timbre. He could have a very pure operatic voice or a raspy Joe Cockerish twang.
At the end of his performance, the whole audience was captivated and yelling «HANA HO.» No… that isn’t a Hugh Grant saying but what I was told was that it was Hawaiian for «ENCORE.»
If you are planning a trip to Hawaii and have some flexibility of dates and where to stay… and if you like great entertainment, see if you can attend a Wille K concert. He is that good. Looking at his bio later, I found he has backed up, played with or opened some of the biggest names in the business. One of his songs was Grammy nominated which didn’t surprise me in tne the least.
Well…my night didn’t go according to plan… and I was glad. I would have stayed until dawn if he chose to play that long. I was fortunate to see such a great entertainer. HANA HO.