Genre: Folk
Hometown: Honolulu, HI

My inspiration stems from art’s potential to ignite curiosity, the seed of transcendence. I am a native of Hawai’i and a citizen of the Earth; my music is guided by a burning desire to merge the cultural heritage of my kupuna (elders) with global themes, weaving the roots of Hawai’i's vast musical palette into a universal sound that includes influences from rock, bluegrass, African, Latin, Celtic, modern and folk music traditions.

It’s not easy to categorize my music; it crosses multiple genres. Like my kumu (teacher) Uncle Sonny Chillingworth, one of Hawai’i's legendary performers: he played Hawai’ian slack key guitar, Portuguese music, country, bossa nova, katchi-katchi… growing up in Hawai’i exposed me to both a melting pot of ethnicities as well as a constant influx of sounds from around the world. My various records reflect those diverse ingredients. Fortunately my roots are deep, having learned from the Slack Key Masters as a young boy.

As an independent artist I exercise my freedom in creating art that isn’t purely commercially driven, and I am blessed and humbled by the support of listeners around our planet. On this site you’ll find more perspective about my music, philosophy and history, learn about the art of Ki Ho’alu (slack key guitar), as well as get updated on my live performances and releases. Aloha!