Makana and Barry Flanagan highlight Solo Sessions at the MACC

One of the great venues at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center is the McCoy Theater located just off to the side of the MACC. It's a great intimate venue for enjoying music and small performances on the island. It's been a wonderful venue for Solo Sessions which features Hawaiian musicians on slack key guitar or ukulele and gives the audience a chance to interact with the musician, many of whom have become world famous but still come back to Hawaii to perform. It's a terrific way to just close your eyes and enjoy music up close and personal with the great acoustics of the theater too.

I had the opportunity to shoot two recent Solo Sessions at the MACC featuring the slack key music of Barry Flanagan and Makana.

Each brought up friends at one point during the session to join them onstage for a few songs which made it even more exciting.

The young 16 yr old Maui singer, Lily Meola, also joined in with Makana to sing the song "Hallelujah". The MACC has done a terrific job of pulling in the some of the top acoustic acts in the state to this tiny venue and allowing us, the audience, to interact with the musicians and then enjoy their music. It feels more like you are in the artist's living room instead of in a theater. More Solo Sessions to come- check the MACC website for updated event listings.

A hui hou,

Aubrey

www.aubreyhord.com

Bruno Mars packs the house and steals the show

The Maui Arts and Cultural Center was packed to the gills last week with Bruno Mars fans and he didn't disappoint with his show!Fans squealed at a pitch so high many thought windows would shatter. It was unreal that 1500 teenage girls could reach a fevered pitch that high but earplugs were the ticket that night for sure!
Hawaii born Brumo Mars was a colorful act from the start, singing his favorite hits while cameras flashed and video cameras followed his every move on stage as they shot a video.

Ever the showman, with many moves reflecting that of one of Mars' idols, Michael Jackson, the music and choreography was fun to watch. Mars has a great rapport with his band and it shows in his performances.
Another fun night for everyone!

Until the next rockin' show!

Aubrey

www.aubreyhord.com

aubrey@aubreyhord.com

A Year of Living Musically

What a year it has been for me in terms of music photography!

When I was given the opportunity to shoot the concerts at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, I was delighted to say the least. I get to do what I love and listen to great music while I work (with ear plugs in-hee hee!). It has been an incredible year for concerts at the MACC. Our little tropical island has hosted musical legends including Sheryl Crow, Steve Miller, Jimmy Buffet, Journey, Aerosmith, Loggins and Messina, Pablo Cruise, John Legend, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. And local musical legends including Willie K, Eric Gilliom, Richard Ho'opi'i, Ryan Kamaka Fernandez, Jeff Peterson, Vince Esquire and Makana just to name a few.

Richard Ho'opi'i
Ryan Kamaka Fernandez

Roy Sakuma

The MACC also hosted the annual Ukulele Festival as well as the Slack Key Guitar Festival making it a well- rounded year for all types of music lovers.

Hula at the MACC

Jeff Peterson

Anthony Natividad on traditional Hawaiian nose flute

Makana

Aerosmith's Joe Perry

Vince Esquire

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler

The Beach Boys

Boz Scaggs

Michael McDonald

John Legend

John Legend

Eric Gilliom

I love my job with the MACC and can't wait to go to work- you can only imagine how fun the office is! Thanks to Art, Candy, Steve, Mick, Launa, both Lisas, Teri, Toni, Karen, Barbara, Karee and the entire hard working crew at the MACC for welcoming me to the team and making my job exciting every day!

Next up: Sammy Hagar, the Red Rocker at the MACC on April 9, 2010. Tickets available at (808) 242-SHOW or log onto http://www.mauiarts.org/.

To music lovers everywhere!

Aubrey

aubrey@aubreyhord.com

http://www.aubreyhord.com/

Aerosmith Rocks Maui

One of the greatest rock bands in American history came to Maui this month and gave an amazing show to 10,000 happy fans in the War Memorial Stadium. Hosted by the Maui Arts and Cultural Center www.mauiarts.org, and presented by Tom Moffatt, the concert was held at the largest venue the island has to offer. The band members got up close and personal with the fans and limited number of photographers who were granted media passes to photograph the show.

A long catwalk extended into the crowd, allowing the band to interact with fans, thrilling the audience!

Maui News photographer, Matt Thayer (with wrist bands on), gets up close and personal with lead singer, Steven Tyler.

Joe Perry set up a keyboard stand and played his guitar right in front of the photographers during the first couple of songs, making is super fun to photograph. The hard part was, when Joe Perry was right in front of us, Steven Tyler was out on the catwalk with the spotlights on him- which way to turn??

The band put on a totally dynamic show non stop for over two hours!

Steven Tyler making his way back to the stage from the catwalk.

The band, jamming right in front of the photographers.

My favorite shot of Mr. Tyler. You can see his lei around his neck if you look carefully.

The ever impressive Joe Perry on bass.

Steven Tyler thanking kumu hula, Lehua, and her hula halau for opening the show. She also presented him with a lei, welcoming him to the island.

The incredibly talented Maui musician, Vince Esquire, opened the show with his band. He got the crowd on their feet right off the bat. They didn't sit down for nearly 3 hours!

More great music is on the way to Maui so stay tuned!

A hui hou,

Aubrey

www.aubreyhord.com

Maui Ukulele Festival 2009

The 2009 Maui Ukulele Festival was held outdoors at the beautiful Maui Arts and Cultural Center on Sunday, October 18th. An impressive lineup of musicians filled the venue with ukulele music for the afternoon. I had the honor of photographing the event for the MACC and am grateful for the opportunity to capture great moments in time with musical talent.

Ukulele master, Roy Sakuma, and his wonderful wife, Kathy, put hours into organizing the events across the state of Hawaii every year and they always impress us!

We enjoyed the music of many masters of the ukulele...

Hula halaus performed their graceful dances to the music...

Ukulele bands from around the island came to perform on the stage.

Our mayor, Charmaine Tavares, was also on hand to present the MACC and Ukulele Festivals Hawaii with a proclamation.

Thanks so much to all the musicians, dancers and volunteers that made the event happen without a hitch.

A hui hou,

Aubrey

http://www.aubreyhord.com/

John Legend in Concert

My first real foray into indoor concert photography was this week at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. I finally jumped in a purchased a full frame camera (Nikon's D700) and love it! I paired it up with a Tokina 300mm 2.8 lens and away we went!

Previously, I have used a tripod indoors and was unable to get the type of images I really wanted with a high ISO. The full frame camera gives me much better results and I love the fact I can rip up the ISO all the way to 6400 and it will still be sharp. Check it out!

These are sample shots from the John Legend concert this week at the MACC.

Eric Gilliom opened the sold out show.

Aubrey
http://www.aubreyhord.com/