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Some of Nashville’s top songwriters are headed to Hawaii this month for the tenth edition of the Maui Songwriters Festival.
Lee Brice, Chris DeStefano and Joel Smallbone of For King & Country are among the talent scheduled to appear at this year’s event, which takes place from January 15 to 18 at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua. Produced in collaboration with Sony Music Publishing Nashville and Renate Event & Design, the tenth anniversary event will feature performances, panels and showcases with both established stars and up-and-coming talent.
The event also serves up a charitable component, with a portion of the proceeds from the festival donated to Maui Strong Fund, helping those affected by the Maui Fires, and to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui.
DeStefano has written with everyone from Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson to Noah Kahan, and he’ll lead a special “How I Wrote That Song” panel on January 17, which will also feature Randall King, Brice Long and Deric Ruttan. Four-time Grammy winner Smallbone and wife MORIAH, meantime, will host guests for an exclusive wine tasting event the same night. They’ll also screen Smallbone’s 2024 film, Unsung Hero, at family-friendly movie matinee on January 18. The festival concludes that night with the “Lee Brice & Friends Finale and Live Auction,” taking place in the Ritz-Carlton’s Aloha Pavilion.
In addition to Brice, DeStefano and Smallbone, guests can also purchase tickets to a special Cantera Negra tequila tasting on January 16, featuring a performance by Frank Ray. Nashville singer-songwriters Jordan Walker and Trea Landon, meantime, will join Ray for a free showcase at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua’s Alaloa Lounge, which offers breathtaking views of the ocean and lush landscaped grounds below.
The event has also long given Maui a chance to showcase local artists, and singer-songwriters from the island – including Akoni Palomino, Tempa & Naor, Brian Santana and Gail Swanson – will open the festival with a free performance on January 15, also at Alaloa Lounge.
“I’m really excited about getting back to Maui,” Brice tells Rolling Stone. “I love these kind of festivals – not only getting away to a beautiful place with awesome people and playing music, but also getting some inspired downtime,” he says. “Listening to other artists definitely gets me in the creative mood, so I always have a guitar close by just in case a little magic decides to show up.”
Brice wouldn’t be exaggerating — Mick Fleetwood surprised guests at The Ritz-Carlton with an impromptu performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” last fall, during the Maui Music & Food Experience. Other celebrities who live in the area, along Maui’s northwest shore, have been known to pop into the hotel lounge as well, owing to its inviting mix of entertainment and chef-driven bites and cocktails paired with a distinct (and welcoming) “locals only” vibe.
Smallbone says he’s excited to kick off the new year by bringing people together through music. “If one were to come up with a picture-perfect way to usher in a year of creating music and movies and stepping away from touring, it may very well be to head to Maui to take in God‘s good Earth with my wife and a load of fellow creatives,” he says. “I believe it will be quite inspirational and hope the fruit of these moments will in turn inspire my fellow brothers and sisters.”
One of the marquee community events in Maui, the Maui Songwriters Festival has raised more than $170,000 for the island in the last few years alone.
