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.

The hula competition is reimagined at the Mele Hula Festival. Recognizing the inherent relationship between hula and mele, the conference culminates with the Mele Hula Festival.

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Info: Kani Maiau: Haku Mele Fundamentals
​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
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
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
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.

Info: Enjoy music at Rum Fire at the Sheraton Waikīkī!

Info: 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.

Info: Mele are traditional apparati for knowledge management. In the face of contemporary challenges related to the misappropriation of what some call “Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property,” mele provides a model for knowledge management that focuses on stewardship over ownership. Panelists will discuss the value mele brings to the conversation of intellectual property.

Additionally, this session provides an introduction to common terms and conditions found in written agreements, waivers, releases or other documents related to the performance of mele and hula. Panelists will highlight areas of common misconception and provide resources that may be used when reviewing these types of documents.

The contents of this session do not constitute legal advice.

Info: This session features renowned haku mele and kumu hula, Kimo Alama Keaulana, as he shares original compositions and his process in composing these mele.

Info: This session is dedicated to the notion of innovation in the practice of mele Hawaiʻi. Panelists will share their experiences on their innovative practices and the values that shape the parameters of their creativity.

Throughout the conversation, each panelist will reference a composition of their own, demonstrating the nexus of innovation and tradition.

Info: This session explores a specific genre of mele: “hakukole” which Pukui and Elbert define as “To defame, ridicule, as in figurative language and chant; defamer.” This is a special presentation offered by a renowned mele practitioner, Kealiʻi Reichel.

Info: This session is aimed at educators who wish to develop mele-based curriculum for the classroom and beyond. Panelists will reflect upon their experiences in developing mele-based curriculum to provide possible next steps for those who wish to pursue this unique and important mode of mele-based education.

Throughout the conversation, each panelist will use a specific mele to demonstrate mele-based curriculum development.

Info: This session features Robert Cazimero, Kaipo Hale, and Kuana Torres Kahele as they share songs that have strengthened their friendship over the years. In doing so, panelists touch on the connective power of mele, its performance, and the moments in between.

Info: Enjoy music and hula at the Ocean Lawn at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel!

Info: This session features renowned haku mele and scholar, Kīhei de Silva, as he shares his original composition, Ehuehu Mai Nei ʻo Mānoa, and his process in composing this mele.

Info: Enjoy music at the Helumoa Stage at the Royal Hawaiian Center!

Info: The hula competition is reimagined at the Mele Hula Festival. Recognizing the inherent relationship between hula and mele, the conference culminates with the Mele Hula Festival.

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Host or Publisher Kahuli Leo Leʻa