The 2025 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience Information

The 2025 Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Experience featuring the Hawai‘i Island Steel Guitar Festival was held at the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, on Thursday, November 13, 2025, through Sunday November 16, 2025.

Due to venue limitations the Friday evening Kanikapila was held at nearby Queens' Marketplace in Waikoloa Village.

In addition to the main concert and the resort's Twilight at Kalāhuipua‘a cultural program, the 2025 experience also included school visits, workshops, Open Stage performances, a vintage steel guitar exhibit, and hands-on opportunities for festival guests.

This year's ho‘olaule‘a concert was held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Friday instead of the usual evening time. The change was made to accommodate another resort event that began at 2:00 PM in the area of the concert.

This year's festival again incoroporated the resort's Twilight at Kalahuipua‘a cultural program at the Eva Parker Woods cottage. This musical program featured festival steel guitarists and musicians.

Both Friday's main concert and Saturday's Open Stage Performance were livestreamed on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

The festival was presented free to the public by the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection and the Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) in association with the Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music, with grants and support from corporate partners, and private donors. Support was also provided in part by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and by the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation. Hawaiian Airlines and Friends of the Future provided travel accommodations for some of the festival musicians and staff.