BEST BAND
(Tie) Ekolu/Gomega
Their latest album, Ekolu Music, won Reggae Album of the Year at
this year’s annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. That’s pretty cool because
the album is a follow-up to their album, Back to the Valley, the
Trilogy, which also won a Hoku Award. Not too shabby for the three Maui
boys of Ekolu who’ve been crooning their contemporary Hawaiian hits
tinged with reggae beats and R&B soul for only 10 years. Plus,
they’re just really nice guys. Speaking of nice guys, Gomega is another
crowd favorite, and though they have not won any Hoku Awards yet, they
definitely win my award for Local Band I Never Get Sick of Seeing Live
and for doing original rock, punk and genre-bending covers of
everything from Britney Spears’ “Toxic” to Israel Kamakawiwo Ole’s
“White Sandy Beach of Hawai’i.”
Runners-up: (Tie) Lahaina Grown and Willie K. (SC)
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