Henry Kapono helped open Aloha Stadium, and this weekend he was part of the Aloha to Aloha Stadium concert, held Saturday, Oct. 25, which is the a hui hou event for a place that has long been home to football games, concerts and community events.
“We were fortunate to open this whole place up,” Kapono told Aloha State Daily.
That first concert drew 38,000 people, he said. Kapono had performed as half of Cecilio & Kapono, along with Kalapana.
Approximately 50 years later, the Aloha to Aloha Stadium concert, produced by TMR Events, Henry Kapono Foundation and Aloha Artist Foundation, featured more than five hours of Island and reggae music. Headliners included The Mākaha Sons, Henry Kapono & Friends, Hawaiian Style Band, Ho’onu’a, Kanaka Fyah and Ekolu. On stage, Kapono was joined by a number of famous and award-winning friends, including Brother Noland, Tavana, Anuhea, Mānoa DNA, Kimié Miner and Kalaʻe & Kalena Parish. Towards the end of the set, the group sang the song, “Friends.”
The emcee for the night was Billy V, who was the voice of Aloha Stadium for years, including when Colt Brennan was quarterback. He was also one of the announcers for the NFL Pro Bowl.
The Mākaha Sons opened the concert. The group goes back almost five decades and will celebrate 50 years of music in 2026. The band started in 1976 and has performed in Carnegie Hall. It originally was called Mākaha Sons of Niʻihau and included Israel Kamakawiwoʻole before he went solo.
Billy V listed off some of the entertainers who have performed in the stadium over the years, including Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, the Eagles, and The Rolling Stones, among others.
People often talk about concerts, he said.
“The biggest event that brought the most people — other than University of Hawaiʻi athletics and football — has been graduations,” he said, as he prepared to step on stage with The Mākaha Sons. “If you go from 1975 all the way through now — multiple schools have walked here. A lot of people have walked here in this stadium to graduate.”
In between sets, Billy V asked members of the crowd to name the neighborhoods they call home, which included Waimānalo, Kalihi, Mākaha — and Japan.
A slideshow during the event shared photos from the archives of football games, as well as flyers that advertised other sports, such as wrestling, and — of course — concerts. Kapono remembers a later performance at Aloha Stadium with the bands America and Flash Cadaillac, plus a 50-piece orchestra.
He also remembers when the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa won a championship and he was there on the field.
“That was huge,” he said. “And that was fun.”
Kapono had played football for UH as a student. Later, he came back to help the team.
“The coach would bring me in to do some motivation stuff — and also to sing to guys,” he said. “They got to know me and my music.”
As Kapono stood backstage, he reflected on the stadium’s legacy.
“This stadium holds so many memories — great memories,” he said. “And I'm looking forward to the new stadium and what it will bring for the people of Hawaiʻi.”
For Christian Yrizarry and Jared Keo, the voices behind Hoʻonuʻa, one of the bands featured in the a hui hou concert, performing was a full circle moment. Keo and Yrizarry played football in the stadium for Kamehameha Schools and ʻIolani School, respectively, Keo said. The duo reflected on their favorite songs to sing that night immediately after their performance on stage.
That night, Yrizarry’s favorite was “Pride,” he said. The chorus of the song goes “Eastside, Westside, anyside, everyside. Doesn’t matter anyway cuz we all got Hawaiian Pride.”
Soon Aloha Stadium won’t be there, he said.
“It's just crazy to even think about it,” Yrizarry said. “I’m from here. We played football. Our high school memories include the stadium.”
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
