Adam Sandler, Ernie Cruz Jr, Led Ka'apana, Nathan Aweau + Barry Flanagan of Hapa Jam!

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Sandler Movie Casts Hapa, Other Local Performers
Hapa has a film date this month with the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston flick "Just Go With It," shooting on Maui.... Full Article
SandlerMovieCastsHapa.pdf

Hula on St. Patrick’s Day
...in another moment that felt very, very Club Passim, James ”Hutch” Hutchinson — Bonnie Raitt’s bassist!! – emerged from the audience to play with the Hapa duo... Full Article -- Event Photos

HAPA Hits Japan
Rolling Stone magazine launched in Japan earlier this year for what will be the magazine's 15th international edition. The new publication, which features a mix of local stories and translated articles from the U.S. edition, addressed the ever-growing popularity of Hawaiian music in Japan by featuring an in-depth interview of HAPA (Nathan Aweau and Barry Flanagan). The talk was about their upcoming CD, entitled "HULA", along with a review of the group's 2006 Album Of The Year "MAUI".

R.S. Managing Editor Tomoshige Kase conducted the interview with Aweau and Flanagan over Gyoza and Green Tea in the Garden Room at the Takanawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo last week.

Speaking through a translator, when Mr. Kase-san asked Flanagan why he had never heard of the group before, Flanagan quipped, "Yes, well, we are probably one of the more popular musical groups from the United States that no one has ever heard of!"

The R.S. interview was part of a week long media blitz that HAPA did promoting their ongoing 25 city Japan tour that started this month and ends December 15. The duo has October profiles with both Hula Le'a and Aloha Magazines, along with featured articles this month in Yomiuri, Asahi, Nikkei, Mainichi and Chunichi, all national newspapers with a total daily circulation of 30 million readers.

July 2007 ------------------------------------------------

HAPA's Music Profile for National Geographic
Hapa members Nathan Aweau and Barry Flanagan and frequent collaborator Charles Ka'upu recently filmed a music profile for National Geographic at its Washington, D.C., studios that is destined for one or more NG editorial platforms this fall. Initial broadcasts of the show will be in Spain and Italy, then the Mainland. The segment features Hapa sharing five songs from its award-winning "Maui" CD in an unplugged, acoustic setting — nice! Ka'upu explains origins of chant and growing up on Moloka'i, Aweau reflects on his days as a high school teacher and musical directorship of the Don Ho shows, and Flanagan recounts New York basketball tales and his adoration of the Polynesian side of Island life. Next up: a Japan tour and a new CD tentatively titled "Hula".
Article: The Honolulu Advertiser - July 26, 2007

June 2007 ------------------------------------------------

Na Hoku Hanahano Male Vocalist Of The Year

HAPA's Nathan Aweau was awarded Male Vocalist Of The Year Award for a record third time at this years Na Hoku Hanohano Awards held earlier this week at The Hawaii Convention Center.

MAY 2007 ------------------------------------------------

HAPA Entertains at Fundraiser for Narcanon Hawaii

Kelly Preston and John Travolta recently hosted a fundraiser for Narcanon Hawai'i, a drug rehab center started by Scientology leader and Humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. Entertainment included Grammy award winning gospel singer Bebe Winans, the Honolulu Boys Choir, Taimane Gardner and HAPA's Nathan Aweau and Barry Flanagan.

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HAPA in "The New York Times"

Sold-out show at the Merkin Hall - New York View article: The New York Times View images: 1 2 3 4 5

Rose Flanagan celebrated her birthday evening at the HAPA concert in NY, meeting broadway legend Tommy Tune.

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Bonnie Raitt with opening act HAPA
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and master guitar player Bonnie Raitt brings her music to Hawaii.

View Article: Star Bulletin

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HAPA and the Iron Chef in Japan

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NewYorkCool.com
Sunny beaches, lush flora, and welcoming Polynesians evoke images all too familiar to American mainlanders. But, wrap these distinctive images in a package of appealing fusion jazz, bass and slack-key guitar acuity, and traditional Polynesian rhythms and you have the musical group, Hapa.... (read more)

APRIL 2007 ----------------------------------------------

Kenny Logins, Peter Fonda & HAPA at the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Magazine Convention

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"The Hollywood Reporter" on HAPA's "Maui"
For some, the phrase "Hawaiian music" might conjure the cliched tropical-cocktail sounds of a Hawaiian slide guitar. But the islands have produced a body of folk music that is vast and nuanced, and for 22 years that music has been a passionate specialty of the Maui-based band Hapa.

"People who think they know what Hawaiian music is, and then have their ears opened up to what it really is, they become the most enthusiastic fans of the music," Hapa founder and multi-instrumentalist Barry Flanagan says. "There's a lot more depth and beauty there than most people are aware of."

The group, which also includes Nathan Aweau and Charles Ka'upu, approaches Polynesian songwriting as elemental roots music, akin to blues or bluegrass, and hopes to celebrate tradition while also pushing the genre forward. That sensibility has made Hapa a successful international touring act, and the band's records consistently reach the top 10 on Billboard magazine's world-music chart. Hapa's music has been used during broadcasts of several sporting events in Hawaii, but Flanagan is working on a rather more significant placement: Plans are under way for "Koa: A Polynesian Journey," a musical based on the band's tunes to be staged off-Broadway in 2008.

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HAPA's "Lei Pikake" - 1 of 50 Greatest Hawai’i Songs

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FEBRUARY 2007 -----------------------------------------

Profiling Hawaiian Music Legends HAPA
View article: AroundHawaii.com

YEAR 2006 -----------------------------------------------

HAPA's Flanagan Researches Broadway Show
Barry Flanagan of HAPA continues to do research for "Koa, the Polynesian Journey," a work in progress destined for a Broadway run in 2012... View article: Honolulu Advertiser

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"It's A Slack Key World"
HAPA's new beautifully produced compilation.
View Press Release: Star Bulletin

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Na Hoku Hanahano Awards
At the 29th annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards held in Honolulu, Oahu, Barry Flanagan & Nathan Aweau's new release "Maui" won four awards including "Album of the Year" & "Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year". The CD also won a "Graphics" award for Solomon Enos, Scott Johnson and Flanagan, and an "Engineering" award for Wendell Ching and Tommy Hall. In addition, Nathan Aweau was nominated for 10 awards and walked out with 6 awards, inlcuding "Male Vocalist of the Year".
View the press releases: Honolulu Advertiser / Star Bulletin