“Christmas in Hawaii,” a concert starring Grammy nominee Kimiê Miner and friends, featuring Paula Fuga, will be held next weekend in Kona and Hilo.
The shows also feature Halau Ka‘eakahelelani, under direction of na kumu hula Ka‘ea Lyons-Yglesias and Kahelelani Alohikea-Smith.
The performances are 7 p.m. Saturday at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa Lu‘au Grounds, and 6 p.m. next Sunday at the Palace Theater in Hilo.
“It’s a Christmas-themed show, but we’ll have our other songs in there,” Miner told the Tribune-Herald. “Both Paula and I will have a mix of songs. We’re definitely doing our hits.”
The holiday music is from an album-sized re-release of Miner’s Hoku-winning EP “Christmas in Hawaii.”
“It’s a deluxe release of the original EP that was released last year,” Miner said. “I ended up doing some live performances of these songs up in Palehua, which is this beautiful, magical mountain on (Oahu’s) west side. And I created this whole Christmas special on YouTube and social media last year. So, I ended up taking some of those live recordings and putting them on this deluxe album, and I (pressed) it on vinyl.”
The two Big Island shows are the first in a series of concerts statewide with a number of special guests for Miner, a Kona native.
“I’m excited, so excited, for this tour,” she said. “I always go home for Thanksgiving, and it’s become a family tradition where we all hang out at home on the Big Island. So, I thought, ‘What better way to start things off than there, because I’m already going to be home with my ‘ohana on Thanksgiving. So, let’s kick it off with my hometown for the holidays, right?”
Fuga, like Miner, is a Hoku winner and one of brightest stars in contemporary Hawaiian music.
“She’s a dear friend of mine, and to kick off this tour, I wanted to do it with her because she’s such an integral part of my album, as well,” Miner said. “She was there with me live in Palehua. She’s featured on the album multiple times. She’s the most featured artist on the album, so it only made sense for me to kick things off with her.”
The 37-year-old Miner is the mother of three children ages 4 and younger and describes herself as a “mom-trepreneur.” She is co-founder/CEO of the Haku Collective, a full-service, multimedia talent production management and music licensing group.
“I wanted to incorporate all my friends who are amazing songwriters, producers, creative in the music industry,” Miner said. “The name came to me in a dream. And it just means ‘to weave together.’ It has so many beautiful meanings, ‘to create,’ ‘to be a leader.’ My mission at Haku is to build and maintain a thriving network of creative people, telling the most authentic stories of Hawaii. Because what Hawaii sounds like today is different than what people thought it sounded like even 10 years ago. It’s an ever-changing landscape of sounds and influences and music. We see it reflected in fashion and in food and in all sectors of business in Hawaii.”
According to Miner, she hopes the concert tour helps people to reconnect with people and traditions that were relegated to the back burner during the pandemic.
“The last two years, we’ve been separated and isolated. We’ve been in our homes with whoever we’ve been able to be around,” she said. “But this is the year where we get to come together musically, face to face, and to celebrate the holidays. I created this album last year because we lost someone in our family, unexpectedly, and it just felt like we needed joy, especially during the pandemic. And I think so many people can relate to that.
“So this album was to bring joy back and to remind ourselves that there’s still so much to be grateful for. Because I believe there is no joy without gratitude.”
Tickets for the concerts are $54.95 general admission, $74.95 reserved seating and $149.95 for a VIP orchestra seating package that includes an artist meet-and-greet experience, premier reserved seating, exclusive laminate and gift. Hilo tickets are available at hilopalace.com, and tickets for both shows are available at www.kimieminer.com/christmasinhawaii.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
