Hawaiian Slack Key Festival returns to Redondo on Sunday
Kimo West (top photo) and Pomaika’i Lyman and Malie Lyman are among the performers in Sunday’s Southern California Slack Key Festival, on Sunday in Redondo Beach. Photos courtesy of Kala Koa Entertainment. by Jefferson Graham Two-time Grammy winner and Maui native Jeff Peterson will be among the performers at the 15th annual Southern California Slack Key festival this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Slack key music got its biggest boost in 2011, with “The Descendants,” a George Clooney film featuring Hawaiian artists on the soundtrack, including Peterson, Gabby Pahinui, and Keola Beamer. Slack key traces back to the 19th century when Mexican and Spanish cowboys came to Hawaii and played guitars at night, after working all day. When Hawaiians took up the instrument they developed a new style, with a new tuning, or ki ho`alu, which means “loosen the [tuning] key.” The open strings of the guitar “represents the open, breezy sound of Hawai,” Slack Key Festival founder Mitch Chang said. “Just like when I hear bebop jazz, it makes me think of the busy, bustling streets of New York.” Chang, a Hawaii native who lives in Torrance, and works as a mortgage broker, got the idea for the…
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