Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, December 8, 2016 11 genius — from the studio to the stage to the backyard to the front lanai … from the Crown Room to the House of Blues.” Willie K notes that his musical evolution has taken him to all sorts of new territory in the last decade. “I have always been known to be eclectic — performing everything from traditional Hawaiian to reggae to rock. But now, I also do jazz, country, opera, and my most favorite genre: blues,” he says. Although Willie K built his reputation as a practitioner of Hawaiian music, he first learned to love blues music from his father, also a respected musician. At the time, Willie was just 6 years old. Diversity seems to be the theme by which Willie K’s musical career thrives. He’s willing to give anything a shot. In 2012, he released his “Warehouse Blues” CD, which earned him the Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Rock Album of the year, his 18th Hoku. All the songs — 17 originals — talk about love, loss and life. He has since become the “Hawaiian Blues Man” and started his annual BluesFest on Maui. Now in its fifth year, the BluesFest has attracted musicians such as Billy Gibbons, Steven Tyler, Mick Fleetwood, Alice Cooper, Pat Simmons, Taj Mahal and lots more who have shared the stage with Willie. Though Uncle Willie lives on Maui, he has plans to bring his musical talents and the talents of other local musicians to the Willie K Crown Room in the near future, creating a musical bridge between the islands. “We are excited for 2017 and beyond with what’s going on with the Grand Naniloa Hotel and specifically the Willie K Crown Room,” Publico says. “Uncle Willie is currently working on future Hilo appearances, but it’s for sure that ‘Willie’s Wonderland’ (Christmas with Uncle Willie K) will be an annual event. His vision for the venue is to have a wide range of entertainment and have it be the ‘Hawai’i Island Music Hall of Fame,’ honoring our great entertainers of the past. The Willie K Crown Room is the perfect venue for these intimate concert and entertainment events, he says. “The Crown Room was always a great spot for live concerts since the ’70s,” Publico says. “It’s one whole room with no blind spots and various styles of seating, from cozy booths to individual seating. The renovated room has been outfitted with an all new sprinkler system and brought up to current fire code. We’ve included a brand new air conditioning system for the entire room, and the booths have been redone. There are two in-house state-of-theart projectors that have 20-foot white walls as screens to give the extra ‘wow factor.’ There’s also new carpeting, two full service bars, new sound equipment and renovated adjacent bathrooms. It’s new, yet still comfortable like the good ’ol days.” Tickets for “Willie’s Wonderland” are $30 general admission (seating is 10 to a table), $150 for a table or booth of four, available at Kapoho Kine Adventures at the Grand Naniloa Hotel, Keaukaha General Store, Makakoa Motorsports, CD Wizard and online at fearlesshawaiian. com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. WILLIE K From page 2 “Willie’s Wonderland: Christmas with Uncle Willie K” also features pupus by Kaleo’s Bar & Grill and laughs by emcee Rodney Villanueva. Courtesy photo
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