On August 3, Slack Key Ohana was joined onstage by a pair of surprise special guests when they performed at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, the Hawaiian Grammy Awards equivalent held at the Hawai’i Convention Center in Honolulu. The band was nominated for Best Hawaiian Music Video of the Year, for the song “Nahenahe Ka Leo o Ka Wahine Uʻi,” and in addition to their own performance, they also backed fellow nominee Brittni Paiva on her song, “Heartbeat Melody.” The latter ultimately took home the award for Instrumental Song of the Year.
Both of the night’s special guests, along with Paiva, appear on Slack Key Ohana’s latest release, Hawaiian Cowboy. Reprising his role on the title track of the album, Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top joined the band alongside four-time Grammy Winner, George Kahumoku Jr. Gibbons and Kahumoku Jr, also joined the band in backing Paiva. “What an incredible night,” said SKO frontman Brian Witkin. “We got in a quick rehearsal the night before with Billy and it went great, so really the hardest part of the event was keeping everything secret until showtime.”
While it didn’t win its category this time out, “Nahenahe Ka Leo o Ka Wahine Uʻi” did score a trophy for Best World Music Song at the 2024 San Diego Music Awards held earlier this year.
Photos by Tanner Teruya
