Irie Love, a singer and songwriter with Kauila roots, is hosting back-to-back events this Saturday, Jan. 24, in Waikīkī. First, she will present Herstory & Harmony: an Irie Love Experience filled with sound healing, storytelling and live music at the Outrigger Waikīkī Paradise Hotel.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for regular admission or $45 for VIP access. Before and after, there will be opportunities to shop at Art + Flea, a pop-up market that features local artisans and food vendors, in the lobby. Proceeds from the talk portion of the event, held in the nearby Victoria Room, benefit the Mana Wāhine Movement, designed to empower women who are entreprenuers or in the arts.
“I’ve really been looking forward to putting together something that really gets to amplify something that I do all the time, which is a little talking piece in my shows,” she told Aloha State Daily. “If anyone has ever been to my musical performance shows, for me, music is medicine, and I try to do my best to present it in that way.”
Sometimes that involves sharing experiential wisdom, she said. Wellness is important for Love, who also hosts sound baths and is a yoga teacher.
Also that evening, Love will perform at Moani Waikīkī from 10 p.m. until midnight. Get tickets.
The Hawaiian reggae-soul artist is known for hits, such as “My Love,” which has more than 9.7 million streams. She has more than 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Love had multiple collaborations with the late Fiji, her longtime mentor, including “It Is Wut It Is,” with more than 11 million streams, “Auright,” with more than 5.3 million streams, and “Just Like That,” with 1.1 million streams. She has also toured with Pink, Fiji, J Boog, Katchafire, and more.
She recently released her new single “Noqu Duabau” on Wednesday, Jan. 21. It is a collaboration with Kuki, an artist based in Fiji.
“So 2026 for me is all about no days off and collaboration,” Love said. “Those are my two themes. I had the privilege of going and performing in Fiji for the first time last year. Unfortunately, it was just after Fiji the artist’s passing — my mentor for so many years. But I got to perform for his people, and it was such a beautiful experience. They knew every single song. ... This song is with one of their biggest reggae artists. His name is Kuki, and he reached out to me and wanted to do a collaboration. And then Canaan [Ene Ponifasio] is a producer who's based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. He did a lot of Fiji's last stuff that's still rolling out.
Last month, Love dropped her latest album “Reflections,” which released Dec. 5, 2025. She wrote most of that album in Paris, where she lived for a few months to collaborate with a French producer.
“There were pieces of songs that I had written when I lived in Seattle, when I was doing my yoga training,” she said. “And then my sister actually wrote ʻSugah’ – Tiana Shai — so she and I did a collaboration.”
When asked which songs she wants readers to listen to first on the new album, Love made suggestions with her audience in mind.
“As far as songs that really resonate with the general population of Hawaiʻi, my song ʻSugah’ is about self love and my journey of that whole experience of really learning to love myself first. And so it's really a happy Hawaiian style type reggae song,” she said. “For me, the song that I love that's my favorite is ʻReincarnation.’ It's a traditional rootsy reggae song, and we brought in all live musicians to make the song in studio, so that was really special.”
Love, whose father made a career as a professional football player in the NFL, had originally planned to play basketball professionally. But, when she broke her leg her junior year of high school, the injury caused her to rethink those plans.
Friends who had heard her sing encouraged her to sign up for “Brown Bags to Stardom,” a talent competition that can count a number of professional singers and songwriters among its alumni. She won.
“It was really the encouragement of my friends — and my family — that really launched me into this whole new world, a whole new passion and path for my life,” Love said.
Recently, Love wrote her first book. She is currently looking for someone to help edit and publish it, she added.
On Feb. 28, she will be sharing an accoustic performance of her new album, “Reflections” at Mānoa Valley Theatre.
“That's going to be a really special acoustic performance where I'm performing the entire album and talking about the album and the concepts behind it, how it was created, and then doing a Q&A, as well,” she said.
Follow Love on Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
