*I received complimentary tickets to attend this event. The opinions expressed are my own.
 |
If you don’t know who Na Leo Pilimehana is, you will need to take a listen. For context, Na Leo Pilimehana is a group that started with three high school friends, who won a Hawaii talent competition in 1984.
Nalani Jenkins, Lehua Kalima, and Angela Morales has continued to make music and have won numerous awards and have a number of hit songs including Local Boys, North Shore Serenade, Flying with Angeles, I Miss You My Hawaii, Poetry Man, Rest of Your Life, and many more.
Having grown up on their music, I can’t believe it’s been 40 years since Na Leo Pilimehana had their first hit Local Boys.
This is the first time I attended a Na Leo concert, or even seen a live performance. I owned many of their CDs and enjoy listening to their harmonious sounds. Even today, their voices are still as soothing as it was 40 years ago.
Some of the songs also added some video montages of events and people in their lives, including some other local Hawaii celebrities. In between songs, they talk about some of the stories and history behind their music. I’ve even learned a few things that I never knew before. For one thing, they had 2 national hit songs that made it to the American Top 40 list. Another fun fact that I forgot about was their version of “Friends” by Michael W. Smith, caused quite a controversy amongst the Hawaii public high school students when they wanted to use the song for their graduation. And a third fact (since the concert was at Downey Theater), they learned that The Carpenters are from Downey and in fact, their house is still there. In light of them finding that out, they also sang a rendition of The Carpenters Song “On Top of The World”.
It was a fun evening - almost like having friends coming over and having a jam session. Being able to hear them perform live, gives a sense of reflection and connection to their lyrics and music. Their music always brings me back to growing up in Hawaii.
The concert was a great long-awaited experience that brought back a sense of nostalgia and reminded me of how deeply their music resonates.
