John Cruz Makes Moonlight Mele Magic in June
John Cruz and the Girlahs Kick-off Summer Concert Series June 19, 7 p.m.
Na Hoku Hanohano award-winner, John Cruz and the Girlahs, will headline at the June 19, 2008, Bank of Hawaii Moonlight Mele on the Lawn concert at Bishop Museum at 7 p.m. (gates open at 6 p.m.). Get ready for a magical night of traditional Hawaiian mele with one of Hawaii’s most popular singer songwriters. This first concert kicks off the 2008 summer concert series on the Great Lawn of Bishop Museum. General admission tickets are $20 on the day of, or the evening of the concert at Bishop Museum or Hawai‘i Maritime Center box offices, or at the door. Save $5 on advance ticket purchases before June 19!
Bank of Hawaii’s popular Moonlight Mele on the Lawn at Bishop Museum is a three-part series of Hawaiian music concertprograms presented June 19, July 17 and August 14, 2008 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale April 1 at the Bishop Museum and Hawai‘i Maritime Center box offices daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
John Cruz says he knew he was destined to play music since he was a young boy growing up in Palolo Valley on Oahu. His musical family surrounded him with the gift of music his entire life. Cruz grew up in Hawaii, but developed his style as a singer songwriter in the subways, coffee houses, and bars of New York’s Greenwich Village and Martha’s Vineyard. Cruz attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he ventured into acting and dancing. He spent six years in theatre and dance companies performing from Lincoln Center to Washington, D.C., in a variety of shows including ensemble productions, gospel-inspired musicals, and two-man plays.
Cruz returned to Hawaii in 1995 to help his brother, Ernie, record an album with the Kaau Crater Boys. He joined the band and one year later released his own first album, Acoustic Soul, which has since sold over 100,000 copies in Hawaii alone and won for him the Na Hoku Hanohano Contemporary Album of the Year in 1997. His radio hits, Shine On, Sitting in Limbo, and Island Style make him one of Oahu’s most sought-after entertainers and established him as a very talented songwriter.
Cruz was the subject of a 2006 documentary, Made of Music: The Story of John Cruz, which won the Visionary Filmmaker Award at the Molokai Film Festival. Cruz went on to release his latest CD, One of These Days, in fall 2007.
Come early to stake out your place on the Great Lawn in front of historic Hawaiian Hall. Gates open at 6 p.m. for general admission (5:30 p.m. for Museum members). Concerts begin at 7 p.m. Local eateries will be providing an array of food and beverages selections available for purchase. (No coolers and no outside food and beverages are allowed.)
Advance tickets for single concerts are $15 General admission; $10 for Bishop Museum members, Active and Retired Military and their families with ID; $10 for Bank of Hawaii customers and employees with ID; Children 4 and under are free. Buy early--tickets the day of or at the door on the night of the concert are $20 General Admission.
Museum memberships, as well as concert tickets, may be purchased at the Bishop Museum box office daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call (808) 847-8290 for more information.
Only low-height (12-inches and under) sand chairs are permitted on the Great Lawn as well as blankets and beach mats. (A hand-held umbrella is always good to have on hand for the occasional light mauka showers.) This is the first of three Moonlight Mele on the Lawn concert date for summer 2008. Mark your calendars! For more information about Bank of Hawaii Presents Moonlight Mele on the Lawn, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
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