Mele Conference & Mele Hula Festival 2026

Kāhuli Leo Leʻa presents the Mele Conference and Mele Hula Festival, a multi-day gathering dedicated to mele (Hawaiian song) and its related cultural practices. Attendees will enjoy three days of presentations (subject to change) below:

The conference begins with a series of plenary sessions dedicated to overarching conversations of mele, including compostion, ʻāina, hula, industry, and a haku mele competition.

Breakout sessions are tailored towards mele practitioners, educators, and music industry professionals, featuring a series of lectures from renown haku mele and a collection of industry/educational professional development sessions.

Music Royalty Help Desk (available 9:30a-4:30p in the foyer)
The cultural practice of mele persists when mele practitioners enjoy economic sustainability. One pathway toward economic sustainability comes in the form of music royalties. This help desk offers a Question-and-Answer session with a music royalty specialist, as a resource for mele practitioners who engage with music royalty revenue streams.

Recognizing the inherent relationship between hula and mele, the conference culminates with the Mele Hula Festival, a new mele and hula competition on June 13.

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Info: Kani Maiau: Haku Mele Fundamentals (Plenary Session)
​This first plenary session of Mele Conference 2026 features a fundamental discussion around the significance of mele as a cultural practice – from discussions on the unique attributes, procedures, and values of haku mele (mele composition) to the importance of mele within Hawaiʻi's comtemporary soundscape.

Info: Kani Kuamauna: Composing Place (Plenary Session)
This plenary session of Mele Conference 2026 features a panel discussion with mele practitioners who utilize mele to interact with -- ceremonialize, sanctify, honor, transform --a sense of place. Throughout the conversation, each panelist will reference a composition of their own, demonstrating their use and understanding of mele as a composition of place.

Info: Kani Kō: Competitive Hula and Mele (Plenary Session)
As an extension of the Mele Conference 2025 panel, "I Leʻa i ka Hoʻopaʻa: Reflections of a Hula Musician," this plenary session aims to share the reflections of kumu hula who often engage in the competitive realm of hula and mele. Moderated from the perspective of a hula musician, the panel will have special emphasis on the unique relationship between hula and mele, kumu hula and musician, on and off the competition stage.

Info: Kani Pono: Hula and Mele Economics (Plenary Session)
This plenary session focuses on a few economies through which mele and hula practitioners find economic value and sustainability. Discussing economic opportunities in Hawaiʻi, mele/hula popularity in Japan, and utilizing resources to obtain royalty payments, panelists will share their own experiences and hopes for the future.

Info: Kani Nahe: Haku Mele Competition (Plenary Session)
Based on the Haku Mele Competition rules, this final plenary session of Day 1 features performances and adjudication of haku mele competition finalists. Having already submitted their lyrics for adjudication, competitors will present their mele for adjudiators to provide commentary/critique. The winner will be invited to perform their mele on the Mele Hula Festival broadcast on June 13, 2026.

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Host or Publisher Kahuli Leo Leʻa