Looping and layering her vocal, ukulele, drum, and keyboard parts, Kawehi plays a cover of the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole song "Hawai'i '78" live in concert at The Independent in San Francisco, California on October 6, 2021. Hawai'i '78 was originally written by Mickey Ioane and recorded by The Makaha Sons Of Ni'ihau. It later appeared on Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwoʻole's Facing Future album (1993). Kawehi released her cover of the song in August 2021.
Kawehi Wight (@iamkawehi) is a singer-songwriter originally from Hawaii who has released several EPs through Kickstarter crowdfunding, built a large social media following, and attracted viral attention with covers of Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box, Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel, and NIN's Closer. She performs solo using a guitar, a keyboard, an Alesis drum pad, and Ableton Live to mix, layer, and loop her vocals and instrumental parts.
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Hawaii '78 lyrics:
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono O Hawai`i
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono O Hawai`i
(The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness)
If just for a day our king and queen
Would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they feel about the changes of our land
Could you just imagine if they were around
And saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our people are in great great danger now
How, would they feel, could their smiles be content, then cry
Chorus:
Cry for the gods, cry for the people
Cry for the land that was taken away
And then yet you'll find, Hawai'i
Could you just imagine they came back
And saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our land is in great great danger now
All the fighting that the king had done
To conquer all these islands now these condominiums
How would he feel if he saw Hawai'i nei
How, would he feel, would his smile be content, then cry
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono O Hawai`i
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono O Hawai`i
Written by Mickey Ioane
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Kawehi - The Quarantine Sessions On Tour live tour dates (2021):
Sept. 19 - Atlanta, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
Sept. 21 - Nashville, TN @ High Watt
Sept. 23 - Austin, TX @ 3TEN
Sept. 24 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links Deep Ellum
Sept. 25 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
Sept. 28 - Greeley, CO @ Moxi Theater
Sept. 29 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
Oct. 1 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Oct. 2 - San Diego, CA @ Winstons Beach Club
Oct. 4 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge
Oct. 6 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Oct. 7 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe's Alley
Oct. 9 - Sacramento, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
Oct. 12 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Oct. 13 - Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
Oct. 15 - Nine Mile Falls, WA @ Live at Andre’s
Oct. 17 - Billings, MT @ Pub Station
Oct. 19 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Oct. 21 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Oct. 22 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ CSPS Hall
Oct. 23 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck (moved from The Granada)
Oct. 26 - St. Louis MO @ Blueberry Hill
Oct. 27 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Oct. 28 - Indianapolis, IN @ White Rabbit Cabaret
Oct. 29 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Café
Oct. 30 - Lake Orion, MI @ 20 Front Street
Oct. 31 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Nov. 2 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
Nov. 3 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
Nov. 5 - Concord, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Stage
Nov. 6 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
Nov. 9 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Nov. 11 - Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
Nov. 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy
Nov. 13 - Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head
Nov. 17 - Berlin, Germany @ Quasimodo
Nov. 18 - Munich, Germany @ Milla
Nov. 19 - Hamburg, Germany @ Häkken
Nov. 20 - Cologne, Germany @ Artheater
Nov. 23 - Manchester, England @ Yes
Nov. 24 - Glasgow, Scotland @ King Tut's
Nov. 25 - Dublin, Ireland @ Whelan's
Nov. 27 - London, England @ Omeara
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Kawehi official bio:
Raised in O’ahu, Hawai’i, Kawehi (pronounced Kuh-VAY-Hee) first pursued music by the encouragement of her piano teacher when she auditioned for the band East that took her from the islands to the mainland in Los Angeles. It is there that Kawehi began her DIY journey as a solo artist, honing her craft with producer/musician (and now husband) Paul Wight. Kawehi is a new breed of musician, a one-woman-band who uses technology to carry the weight of a full band on her own. She was seen and heard in the Super Bowl 50 commercial for Intel, has landed in publications such as People Magazine, Spin, Esquire, and on the front page of Reddit. Elle magazine has dubbed Kawehi “The Genius One-Woman Band” and HuffPo has praised Kawehi as “Killing the DIY scene.” With over 21 million views on her KZfaq channel, Kawehi has been performing sold out shows across the nation and has already been on three world headlining tours.