A Portrait of Hawaiian Music: Live at the Hawaiian Bash 1993

Live performance means absolutely everything in the culture of Hawaiian music. Hawaii’s indigenous slack key guitar famously existed for at least a century before anyone considered bringing it into a studio setting. The nature of a communal gathering is more important for some than even the music itself, so festivals still hold a strong significance. The BASH concert series in particular has established itself as an important cultural touchstone, kicking off the summer months by bringing together some of the most popular artists on the islands. This 1993 recording of that year’s BASH was put together in a slapdash fashion, with engineers having less than a week’s notice that a live album was going to be made. Regardless, the electric energy of the moment comes through. The release is noteworthy for being the only recorded document of the annual festival, and also the only record of the live-only supergroups Kata’s Bridgeboys and the Hawaiian All-Star Band.