Keola Beamer
Bio
“Keola Beamer’s [slack key] style is the best there is on the planet,” says Willie Nelson. Keola Beamer has breathed new life into slack-key guitar music yet stays true to its deeply Hawaiian roots. He is a Hawaiian legend: singer-songwriter, composer, guitar master, with an impeccable, gorgeous style featured on The Descendants soundtrack and his 17 CDs. Keola was one of the first to use the Hawaiian slack-key technique to create contemporary music at home on jazz or classical stages. His wife Moanalani Beamer joins Keola in performances with her beautiful hula and the exquisite sounds of traditional Hawaiian instruments.
Keola’s mother, Aunty Nona Beamer, continues to be revered as a Hawaiian cultural treasure and his great-grandmother was one of Hawaiʻi’s most illustrious composers, Helen Desha Beamer. The Beamers trace their roots to royal families of the 14th century and have been cultural practitioners through generations. So Keola's talent is in his blood, inherited from over five generations of musical and artistic lineage.
Keola established himself early as a leader of the wave of contemporary Hawaiian music when he wrote the classic Honolulu City Lights – which is still one of the absolute all-time best-selling recordings in the history of Hawaiian music. Keola was also the author of the first written instruction book for the Hawaiian Slack Guitar, published in 1972.
He is an Award-Winning Author and Artistic Director of The Mohala Hou Foundation, which presents Aloha Music Camp. In January of 2018, Keola was appointed Board Chair of Aloha Kuamoʻo ʻĀina, a 501c3 non-profit formed for the protection and preservation of the Kuamoʻo Battlefield and Burial Grounds in Kona, Hawaii.