KOHALA COAST — Rihanna, Britney Spears, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand are among the famous voices in the music industry who sing tunes and lyrics composed by stellar songwriters working behind the scenes.
From September 7 through 9, island music lovers have the chance to see — and hear — the people who make the music happen for stars like these, during the Hawaii Songwriting Festival at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
The festival will culminate with a “Hit Makers Concert” on closing night, featuring performances by the top three Songwriting Competition finalists and festival instructors, including Grammy winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz.
The event’s staff includes JoLi, Amy Stroup, Mikey Wax, Streetlight Cadence, Maelan Abran, Kimie, and Andre Merritt who are songwriters for music icons such as Kenny Loggins, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Black Eyed Peas, The Judds and Diana Ross, among many others. Music executives, attorneys, producers and publishers will be on hand to teach, network and be accessible to attendees, formally and informally.
“If you’re in L.A., you’re not going to get to these people because they are too busy,” said festival president Charles Michael Brotman, the Grammy-winning producer and owner of Lava Tracks Recording Studio and Palm Records, both based in Waimea.
Brotman and his sister, Jody, founded Palm Records in 1997. In 2005, he produced the album “Slack Key Guitar Volume 2,” featuring various artists, which won a Grammy award in the first-ever Hawaiian Music category. Brotman produced two more Grammy nominees, “Slack Key Guitar: The Artistry of Sonny Lim” in 2006 and “Hula Kui” by Kahulanui in 2014. A winner of multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, he was named Hawaii Music Awards Producer of the Year in 2005.
When the Kauai Music Festival began in 2002, the whole Brotman family — Charles, his wife, Joanie, and daughter, Julia — would attend and volunteer wherever needed. When the founding president decided not to continue on Kauai, it was the Brotmans who steered it to the Big Island in 2015, rebranded as the Hawaii Songwriting Festival. Jody helps with advance work and Festival tasks and makes it a point to sit in on the panel talks to soak up knowledge from the industry professionals.
“Here in Hawaii, because of the very relaxed atmosphere of the festival, you can hang out at the pool, or have lunch with them,” Brotman said. “We have gotten the reputation as one of the best songwriting conferences in the country. It has a certain caché being invited. A lot of people contact us during the year.”
He continued, “Nobody is paid, including the professionals. Everybody is doing it because they want to be here. Fees and concert tickets basically pay for airfare and hotel for the staff.”
Festival attendance is capped at 200 songwriters.
“It’s small, and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a great event,” Brotman said. “Everybody gets to know each other; everybody gets to hear each other’s music. It provides connections, like a door into the music business, both the art and the craft side.”
For participants, each day is divided into three segments. In the morning, one professional meets with a group of about 10 songwriters to play their music, get some feedback and learn from each other. In the afternoon, panel talks cover topics such as melody and lyric writing, the legal aspects of music business, how to sell music to movies and TV, and other topics.
Evenings are for performances with open mic sessions and kani ka pila, culminating with Saturday’s concert where students and teacher will perform, including Jason Mraz. His hit single “I’m Yours” won Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, as well as ASCAP Song of the Year in 2008. Mraz has also established a nonprofit organization, the Jason Mraz Foundation, to “uplift humanity through arts education and the advancement of equality.”
Brotman said that all different age groups, from 12 to 75, are represented at the Festival, as are different music genres — from Hawaiian and Jawaiian to rock, hip hop and rap. He also said that the mainland staff are across the board enthusiastic about the music they hear at the conference.
“I think they are very used to hearing certain kinds of music in L.A. and Nashville, and they are really overwhelmed by the amount of creativity and talent, really surprised by what they hear,” said Brotman. “There’s so much talent here; it’s amazing.”
A registered 501c3 nonprofit, the event is run completely by volunteers, and scholarships are available for some students. It is made possible in part by Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism, Creative Industries Division, State of Hawaii, as well as local sponsors and donors.
For more information, and to purchase tickets for Saturday’s concert, visit www.kauaimusicfestival.com.