THE MĀLIE STORY

In 1984, James ʻEkolu Pānui, Larry Keliʻi Duhaylongsod and Nathan Liberato Kahikolu Kahapeʻa Kalama started the first Kauaʻi Composers Contest and Concert with $300 in their pockets - a grant from the Hasegawa Komuten Relations Board. With the support of radio station KUAI 720 and Mayor Eduardo Malapit, the first concert was held at the Kauaʻi War Memorial Convention Hall. They were lucky if there were 50 people in the audience...but they made a $5 profit! These 3 men were known as the muscial group Mālie and had a unique quality of harmony, blend ryhthm and style that set them apart from other local Hawaiian groups. All three played several instruments, could sing 3 or 4 parts, composed many songs, individually and collectively, and danced hula for Willy Kalaʻau Pulawa in the early 1980s. Though Larry and ʻEkolu are gone, the legacy they left to and for the island of Kauaʻi lives on through the

Kauaʻi Mokihana Festival.