Pretty in pink! Lahainaluna High School varsity basketball girls pose at Lahaina Civic Center on “Coaches vs. Cancer” night last Thursday, Jan. 28. The Lady Lunas raced by Na Ali‘i of King Kekaulike by a score of 70-44 to close out a perfect 12-0 Maui Interscholastic League regular season. Currently ranked second in the state, the five-time defending MIL champions finished third at the state tournament last year and are primed for another strong run through the MIL and state tournaments on Feb. 3-5 (Lahaina Civic Center) and Feb. 16-19 (Honolulu), respectively. In a lively evening last Thursday, the pink-clad Lady Lunas, as well as the boys team that defeated King Kekaulike 51-44, raised awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. Photo by Walter Chihara.

NAPILI — Artists in the Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert Series won the Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Their CD, “Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2,” received the award.

The five compilation CDs produced by the renowned weekly Maui show have now been honored with five nominations and four Grammy Awards.

CD producers Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong, producer/artists Daniel Ho and George Kahumoku Jr., and artist Jeff Peterson accepted the award in Los Angeles. They said they are deeply honored to receive this award again.

The pre-televised awards were streamed live on the www.grammy.com site, and the presentation will be available for viewing for one month.

“Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2” is a compilation of live performances from weekly concerts (going on for seven years now) at Napili Kai Beach Resort.

Featured on the CD are master slack key artists George Kahumoku Jr., Dennis Kamakahi, Jeff Peterson, Owana Salazar, Sonny Lim, Keoki Kahumoku, Kawika Kahiapo and Daniel Ho, with special guests falsetto legend Richard Ho‘opi‘i and lap steel great Bobby Ingano. Also included are the young, next-generation nephews and show regulars Peter DeAquino and Sterling Seaton.

On Friday, Jan. 29, prior to the awards, George hosted an educational program with Los Angeles area high school students in the morning. That evening, all of the Hawaiian Grammy nominees performed at the Grammy Museum.

George explained, “Then I came on with Daniel Ho and did my original song called ‘Ho‘okupu’ about Pele & Kamapua‘a from our Grammy nominated CD… and we had the whole roomful of high schoolers singing and grunting and making pig noises.”

The slack key concert series is recognized nationwide as the home of slack key music in Hawaii. It was founded in 2003 by Konwiser, Wong and George Kahumoku Jr.

They developed the successful show concept of traditional Hawaiian music combined with personal stories to provide an expanded view of Hawaii’s culture and musical heritage in a dignified concert setting.

George is the musical host of every show, which features a different guest artist every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Napili Kai Beach Resort. View the ongoing performance schedule of artists at www.slackkey.com.