Makaona's Hawaiian/Hula Entertainment

Nothing but 5 stars for Makaona! They surpassed expectations and created beautiful memories for my wedding party and day! Thank you so much!

Our musician was amazing, friendly, and flexible. His music was beautiful (we had many positive comments!) and he was flexible when we asked if he could stay a bit later than expected. He was extremely friendly and made us feel at home.

I can't say enough about music and dance at our condo last. They were so warm, friendly and skilled sharing Aloha. I would highly recommend them to others!!! Mahalo, Andy Krakoff

She was spectacular and made our moment so memorable

Super accommodating and prompt with their response and punctuality! I could've asked for a better team.

We get like we had our own personal luau. She was fantastic

Had a great time!

I wanted to hire hula dancers to surprise my friend for his birthday on our trip to Kauai. I'm so glad we were able to find Ita & Kai! They were amazing! They showed up right on time and put on a beautiful show. They explained some history while they danced. Then in the end we were all given a hula lesson and told the meaning behind all of the moves. We loved it, especially my friend. I would recommend them both to anyone who wants to add something meaningful to a special occasion!

Makenani was so good, they loved her.

The show lasted less
Than ten minutes . The singer was average . The dancer mediocre . Sorry but my honest opinion . Thanks

Ronson has a beautiful voice and brought us some warm island magic. The songs were touching and we learned some local history/phrases. 100% worth every penny.

Our hula dancer was so fun and engaging! We all tried to hula while the sun ☀️ was setting! Thank you for making our 10 year anniversary so special!

Barron performed for a small surprise celebration for my mother in law's 70th birthday. He was super communicative, pleasant, timely and great with all of the guests, from my infant daughter, to my energetic toddler, and my in-laws. Highly recommend him!!

It was the perfect mix of traditional and current Hawaiian music. Kyles singing and playing was excellent, his commentary was perfect for us during a family reunion. Nicole was graceful and the hula instructions were fun.

They were definitely a high point for our week long gathering.

Thank you so much for making my bday special! They were so nice and on time. The performance was amazing!

I hired Kyle LaBenz of Makaona's Hawaiian/Hula Entertainment to play a song on the guitar while I proposed to my girlfriend. He was fantastic! His performance exceeded my expectations and made the moment perfect. He was also super accommodating and flexible, especially given the uncooperative weather. All in all, I couldn't have been happier with the experience. Five stars! Thanks again, Kyle!

Very professional and well organized. It was a beautiful performance by the Polynesian dancer Ryelee. We had alot of little kids there and she made such a lasting impression on them and was so fun and interactive! the fire dancer, Quest and the drummer made such a professional and seamless performance! We loved it and will recommend to others!

I booked with Makaona for 2 acoustic musicians and paid the $250 despot. Unfortunately we needed to cancel. I was worried I wouldn’t get my deposit back and didn’t want any negative confrontation. Thankfully none of that happened Maka was very understanding communication was great, I got my deposit back the next day. We appreciate it and will use your services in the future.

We had a corporate dinner function. The attendees expect the schedule to be followed and what was advertised to be provided. This didn’t cost much so you get what you pay for in this scenario. For whatever reason several songs were done by playing it on an iPhone and holding up to the mic. Was the music player by the musician great? Yes! But it looked tacky for someone to read a story off their phone and then keep holding the phone to the mic. It was for sure not as described or requested. Overall, cost considered it wasnt horrible but was tacky. Plus the fire dancer was nearly an hour late and attendees were wanting to leave before he arrived.

Loved the energy and enthusiasm! They went beyond the time we had booked. Thank you guys!!!

I booked this about a month in advance for my husband’s birthday while vacations on Kauai. The original venue did not pan out, but the day of the event, the dancers were flexible with a new location I found. They arrived on time, dressed beautifully. They performed several dances and it was an unforgettable experience by all spectators. We got what we paid for. I highly recommend booking events through GigSalad / Makaona

I made a booking for a ukelele player for my surprise engagement. Maka set me up - incredibly easy. I even changed locations and that was handled without an issue. For day of logistics, Ron set up at the location, scouted a great spot, and texted me to coordinate the meet up, and we chatted through protocol and flow. He performed beautifully and my engagement went off without a hitch.

Thanks Maka and team!

Arrived before scheduled event ready to play. Made the event spectacular!

Super professional experience for a surprise sunset engagement with Kyle (singing guitarist) and hula dancer! Thank you to all involved everything was perfect and better than I could have imagined!!! My fiancée was super surprised and we were both blown away by the musicianship. We cant thank you enough!
Mahalo
Ryan & Anda

Makaona helped us find a ukulele player on Kauai to entertain at one of the gatherings we had throughout the week of celebrations for my mom’s 80th birthday, even though they are based on Oahu. The musician, Kyle La Benz was amazing! So talented. He played both traditional Hawaiian songs along with more contemporary music. He brought extra ukuleles with him, told us the history of the ukulele and led us in a group lesson. We were terrible but had so much fun! Kyle was very entertaining and professional. Clearly knew how to read the audience. I would highly recommend Makaona’s services. Thank You!

We really enjoyed the music at our wedding. Everything was perfect and the player was super cool. We loved it and recommend these guys to anyone. Great price and even better music.

Amazing communication & artist!!!

Enjoyed our experience!

They were pleasantly nice

They were professional and the entertainers were so talented! I highly recommend.

The experience that our family had was very genuine and sincere. Ellsworth and Sasha were extremely talented and told a beautiful story of Hawaii. I can't recommend them enough! Also, Maka was wonderful to work with as he was responsive, professional, and followed through.

Fabulous! Entertaining for all ages 2 1/2 to 69…. Would highly recommend

IT WAS AMAZING AND WE ENJOYED IT ALL

Kyle crushed it. Made for a perfect night with family on the beach! Thank you and will definitely do it again!

Kyle was assigned to play for us & did a great job surprising my brother’s girlfriend for their engagement!! He knew all of the songs that I requested & more!

We had 3 performers, Kyle, Ita(?) and Pomaikai, come for a performance for my husband's 50th birthday. They were early, professional and dynamic. Kyle's storytelling and Ita's dancing interpretation were amazing and Pomaikai's fire performance was outstanding. If you are looking for something different yet traditional, please consider Makaona's to meet your needs.

I was in touch back and forth and had changes from one day to the next getting this together for a pre-wedding, then to wedding show. Maka was on it and professional throughout! I couldn’t have been more pleased with their ease of setting up to their choice of songs and dances. Authentic, beautiful and made the event extra special and loved by all! So thankful, mahalo again!

We had a simply ceremony of renewal of vows but it was so awesome! Elias provided a very touching and personal ceremony for us. We recommend them for any wedding! Mahalo.
Kelly

I was looking for a ukelele player for my surprise proposal on the beach. Makaona's Entertainment was extremely responsive and easy to coordinate with. Mitch came and serenaded us on the beach, was able to work with me on the details of the surprise, and it was absolutely perfect - it made our whole engagement day that much more special. Many thanks Mitch and Makaona's Entertainment!

Mitch was better than we could have ever imagined. Everyone loved 💗 him and he made our wedding and reception a great memory that will last the rest of our lives.
Mahalo,
Chuck & Mary Sayles

Kell-eh-hu-a was the BEST!! She mixed native with Christian perfectly. We couldn’t have done better and the process started on Friday for a Monday ceremony…everyone was excellent and very communicative.

We did a private Hula Lesson for my daughter. She had a great time. The instructor was very professional and very fun. She was knowledgeable and taught the background of the hula, showed her how to use different hula implements. It was a highlight of our trip.

Jeremy and Aimee brown were superb. It was exactly what we hoped it would be. I would recommend them to anyone.

Baron was a fantastic ukulele performer and singer — would highly recommend him for your musical needs! He was also such a pleasure to work with and truly embodies the aloha spirit. Working with Makaona’s was also such a seamless experience. They are extremely prompt and organized and made the experience of booking a performer so easy!

I loved the musician and dancer both were very friendly and everyone in my wedding was entertained.

Kyle was terrific and we enjoyed that he played anything we requested.

Everything changed in the room for dancing she was beautiful she also provided a lot of history and information about Hula and all the instruments she used. It was festive and fun.

Maka helped me and was super quick with responses! I was planning a proposal to my boyfriend and was looking for a ukelele player in 2 days! He confirmed a musician was available and that he knew the song I needed him to play. Kyle La Benz was our musician and he was amazing! Showed up early to the venue and pretended to be practicing music until the big yes happened and started playing our song. He has a beautiful voice and at the end of it all, we wanted to book him for our future wedding. Highly recommend Maka and his team and ask for Kyle!!

This made our vacation!! The two guitar players were awesome particularly the main slack key player. The hula dancer was so graceful and we had so much fun learning two hula dances. It was magical!!!

We loved our performers! Made the perfect addition to our wedding :) Mahalo!!

We really appreciate the flexibility also. We had to change three different locations and they were so supportive. We really appreciate the performance.

Ben Kama was an exceptional ukulele player and played many of our favorite songs. He even jammed out with one of our guests. I would highly recommend him for your next event. Thank you.

We had a wonderful one hour with Kaniali (sp?)! He played for our family of 6 as a surprise for my sister's 60th birthday. He was professional, prompt and treated us to his wonderful singing and music, many songs he had written. In between songs, he gave us a rich history and understanding of Hawaiian culture. It was a perfect evening.....made perfect with his entertainment!
We would not hesitate to recommend him for other events. We were extremely impressed that he was playing after our gig at the Westin next door!

We had family visiting and the little ones have never been to a luau. And given the current limitations, we decided to have a home luau. It ended up being the perfect evening. Hula, live music and fire dancer with live drums. It wasn’t just the kids that loved the evening, but the entire family. We couldn’t have asked for more!

Baron and his wife came to our rental house for our dads birthday party. They arrived early and were very professional. They were super interactive with our party, which made the event that much more special. We all had such a great time and said that they were one of the big highlights of our trip.

Seriously, you can stop looking and start booking right here. Ellsworth put on a fantastic beach-side show of singing and guitar Hawaiian music, and some of the stories behind the songs. This was a virtual concert, held for my father's 80th birthday virtual party, with him and my sisters all spread across the continental US in three time zones and Ellsworth broadcasting with an ocean view. All aspects of the process and show advanceement were excellent and highly professional. And he played a couple of my dad's requested favorites! Mahalo nui loa!

We were very pleased with the hula performance provided by Makaona Hawaiian/ Hula Entertainment. Our experience was a beautiful one. The dancer's name was Kelehua. She was professional and came dressed adorned with lei, flowers, and a pretty dress. Her kind and good spirit filled the room as she danced. This was such a sensitive time and the song we chose meant a lot to our family. She embraced the meaning of the song and danced with grace. Thank you for Kelehua!

I booked Makaona's Hawaiian/Hula Entertainment to create a video for use in a 90th birthday party that had to go "virtual" because of covid-19 social distancing requirements. Ellsworth played the ukulele and sang beautifully -- with the Aloha spirit coming through wonderfully. Thank you!

I would surely recommend them to anybody.
They are so versatile and

I booked with Makaona’s from Winnipeg Canada and planned to have my wedding in Hawaii. The communication was amazing, everything was explained to me very well. I had Ellsworth play the ukulele at my event on Feb 10, 2020 and he did beautifully; it added a Hawaiian touch to my wedding that made it very unique. He arrived 30 minutes early and we talked over everything, I had him play “somewhere over the rainbow”, “can’t help falling in love” and “marry you” all three songs sounded amazing. We got a picture with him afterwards! I definitely recommend!

I surprised my girlfriend on the beach with a singing guitarist, Ellsworth and an engagement ring. He is very friendly and easy to work with!

I was in a bind, and Maka was the only one to respond. She was extremely fairly priced, and she was willing to work with us schedule-wise. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible logistically, but Maka was extremely accommodating and even helped me work through the cancellation process. I would highly recommend her and Makaona Entertainment for future events just of her customer satisfaction.

This was the worst possible experience! My Wife and I booked Makaona more than a month in advance for our wedding only to receive a message literally HOURS before letting us know they could not book any dancers for our event! This was after being more than accommodating when they asked for a different time slot twice throughout the course of the day prior. While I was offered a full refund; I should have been paid to have to deal with this lack of service that had been paid for well in advance. I definitely under no circumstances book this company to spare anyone the hardship of having to experience this hours before such a major event.

Mahalo to hula dancer kelehua for the beautiful dance she did for my ohana family. Kelehua also took the time to teach the kids a hula dance. Definitely great to work with!!!

Mahalo to hula dancer kelehua for the beautiful dance she did for my ohana family. Kelehua also took the time to teach the kids a hula dance. Definitely great to work with!!!

We were so pleased with Maile's performance last night. Our out of town guests were very happy to see a live performance. Thank you. We will surely contact you again for future parties.

From start to finish Ells was on time. Perfect
for our parents anniversary party. He played a
good variety of songs and was personable to all!
We were happy with him, has a great presents &
voice to match!

Makaona’s Hawaiian/Hula entertainment was awesome to work with. They communicated the entire time and were super accommodating to my request. The musician was fantastic. He was prompt, sang and played beautifully and was extremely sweet. He even had people take pictures of our surprise engagement from the distance. His name was Ronson and I hope he knows how much we appreciated his effort! This website was very helpful connecting me with exactly the type of musician I was looking for. Thanks again for helping making our day so special.

Baron and Khalil added something special to our event. We absolutely loved it.

We can’t thank you enough for sending Ellsworth our way! His music and singing added the extra touch that we needed for our event! We had so many compliments! Mahalo nui Ellsworth for being prompt, professional, and allowing us to keep you the extra 1/2 hour! It was so great meeting you and thank you for blessing our office with your presence and filling the air with beautiful Hawaiian music!
- Island Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Excellent service/performance once again for a home family function! Thank you!

We had Baron Bento perform at our daughter's 2nd birthday party. As you can expect, lots of chaos and noise at a kid's birthday, but Baron handled it perfectly. He had a professional attitude, but also was very warm and personable. Watching him interact with the kids, his experience as a father/grandfather was clear. Many of the grown-ups at the party commented to us how much they liked having him there.

Mahina did a beautiful job demonstrating and teaching hula for a group of my friends. She was very professional and knowledgeable.

I like that the event details were handled by GigSalad and I was able to focus on the event. Baron showed up with ample time before the start. That made me happy. I would recommend Makaona's Hawaiian/Hula.

We hired a hula dancer (Kaleolama) and ukulale player (Baron) to perform as a surprise to my grandparents who were hosting us at their home in Lanikai. They were fantastic. Great personalities and humor. Beautiful dancing. Just the right amount of backstory for the songs and dances. They started with some commercial songs, but quickly transitioned to traditional Hawaiian music once they realized my grandfather was local. We loved having Kaleolama and Baron join us for the evening and would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for a hula / Hawaiian musical performance.

GigSalad put me in touch with a fantastic guitarist and vocalist, Ellsworth Simeona, for my engagement proposal on the island of Oahu. His performance enhanced the ceremony, and working with GigSalad was smooth in the weeks leading up to the event. An extremely professional company that I plan to work with again. Mahalo for everything!

We were very happy with our small event, Maka is a very nice lady that can dance and also get the people involved, she was always very responsive to our needs, the guitar player played well and had a wonderful voice, we also had a ukulele player that was amazing! Over all we we're all very pleased☺

Ukulele singer sang well and moved my wedding guests. He played the Ukelele well and we really like the song selections. He went around the tables too and sang closely to the guests after the intro song so it felt more intimate.

We also really like the fire dancers. It was well worth the money. The main performer did a really good job with the big crowd and has us, the bride and groom, closer to the stage so we can participate. He’s very lively and fun and our guests really enjoyed the show! Thank you very much for your service!

Professional and on time. Just what we asked for. Highly recommend!

Fire dancer show was only 3 minutes long. Not worth it, beware because everyone else's quote states 15-20 minutes while theirs do not. There is a reason.

No comment

I was in a real jam as a last minute change in the event required specialized entertainment. They came through with exactly what I needed.

They were very helpful, and were very responsive. Our Ukelele player was engaging, friendly, and very very good. I’d highly recommend to all.

I picked this company because their quote was reasonable.
That was my first choice, to be honest.
I was looking for a ukulele player to play for my husband's birthday on the beach.
When I was in the booking process, I was home in Texas so it was very hard for me to feel comfortable because of my lack of knowledge regarding entertainment in Hawaii.
Maka was my contact person.
The company texted and left voice messages to ensure my satisfaction, and that all my questions were answered.

The birthday dinner/event was incredible.
Jeremy Hirowaka was our Ukulele Player and showed up right on time.
His smile was infectious as well as his talent.
There was one song he admitted from my request that he did not know, but we could not even tell.
He played it so perfectly.
I'm so glad I picked this company for my event!
There will definitely be a next time for me.

Thank you so much,

Monika Pev
Dallas, TX