Rocky Mountain UkeFest & Music Studio is proud to hosting the first Rocky Mountain Ukulele Spring Retreat featuring guest artist, Steven Espaniola. The event includes a concert on Friday, April 28 and two workshops and an Open Mic & Jam Session on Saturday, April 29 in Durango, Colorado.
Steven Espaniola was raised in Aliamanu, Hawai’i and now resides in the California Bay Area. He is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist Hawaiian artist specializing in Ki Ho’alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar), ukulele, Upright Bass and Leo Ki’e Ki’e (Traditional Hawaiian falsetto).
His debut recording, “Ho’omaka” (to begin), features a mesmerizing collection of traditional and original Hawaiian mele (chants, songs, and poems) recorded by Na Hoku Hanohano and GRAMMY Award winning producer Dave Tucciarone. Steven’s next release, Ho’omaopopo (to understand), transports to the Hawaii of yesterday with soaring falsetto voices, slack key guitar and rhythmic ‘ukulele’ and won him “New Artist of the Year” at the Hawaii Music Awards.
He has presented at some of the country’s most prestigious ukulele festivals including Tunes in the Dunes (Oregon), Reno Ukulele Festival (Nevada), San Francisco Ukulele Festival (California) and Mighty Uke Day (Michigan).
Steven's Saturday workshops - a morning and afternoon session - will focus on teaching the most widely used strumming patterns in traditional Hawaiian music. Classes will be taught in a fun, kani ka pila type of environment!