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Oregon Family Magazine

Hawaiian Cowboy Up! Bobby Moderow & Melveen Leed

Two Hawaiian music legends with strong country influences join forces. With preshow music and hula; a great way to start your 4th of July celebration.

Bobby Moderow, Jr. is a renowned slack key guitarist, Hawaiian falsetto singer, and founding member of Maunalua, a group that has won six Nā Hōkū awards (Hawaiian Grammys) including Best Hawaiian Album, Best Group, and Favorite Entertainer of the Year.

A member of the Honolulu Boys Choir as a child, Bobby later become a protégé of slack key guitar master Raymond Kane. Bobby has performed all over the world, including at the inaugural lūʻau for President Obama; the 150th anniversary of the Smithsonian; and several times at the Grammy Museum. He also teaches slack key -- he is currently on the music faculty at the University of Hawai'i, and the award-winning artist Makana was one of his students. Bobby is a rock star of Hawaiian music and his shows are always fun, dramatic and high energy.

Melveen Leed was raised on Moloka'i, one of the most rural Hawai'i islands. As a young woman she won "Miss Moloka'i" and began her singing career, which eventually spanned five decades and over 25 albums. She has won the Nā Hōkū award for Best Female Vocalist five times, has had guest roles on Hawai'i Five-O, and was anchor performer at the Waikiki International Marketplace until its closure. She recently received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pan Pacific Southeast Asian Women Association of Hawaii. She has raised more than $1 million for various non-profits, including the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, Red Cross and Arthritis Foundation.

Melveen has been heavily into country music her whole life, singing about Hawaiian cowboys and rural living, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. But she also sings traditional Hawaiian songs, jazz standards, inspirational and patriotic songs. Her motto in life is "If it's from the heart, it reaches the heart."

These two talented and deeply rooted Hawaiian musicians will perform both separately and together. They will be joined by hula dancers from the Eugene hula school Nā Pua O Hawai'i Nei. There will be a short preshow by Jon Labrousse.

This concert is produced by Pacific 'Ohana Foundation of Gig Harbor, WA, and supported by the Hui Ho'onu'a network of Eugene/Springfield.

Date & Time

July 1, 2019

6:30PM - 9:00PM

Location

Wildish Theater - 630 Main St, Springfield, OR, 97477 630 Main St Springfield 97477 OR US

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