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Makana joins Jason Mraz
for 3 concerts

More than two years after his major label debut album was released, Jason Mraz is finally coming to Honolulu.

Tickets for the Feb. 12 concert at the Hawaii Theatre went on sale last weekend. He'll perform on Maui the next day, followed by a Kauai show on Feb. 20.

Born in Virginia, Mraz made a name for himself in the San Diego coffeehouse scene, and has since been compared to John Mayer and Jack Johnson. Local boy Makana will join him for all three Hawaii concerts, as will California surfer girl (and former Roxy model) Tristan Prettyman.

Also keep in mind that Mraz allows fans to tape his shows, as long as you don't sell the recording. Call 528-0506 for info ...

SPEAKING OF Makana, the slack key guitarist was among the sold-out crowd watching Lisa Loeb play on Saturday night at the Hawaiian Hut. Pipeline Cafe's Jed Roa, Hot 93.9's Pomai and radio traffic reporter Dave Hisaka were also spotted in the room.

Although she took the stage almost a half-hour late, fans weren't disappointed by her set of new material from "The Way It Really Is," interspersed with older favorites and listener requests. And of course, the loudest crowd response came when she began to play "Stay."

It was also pretty cool to see Owana Salazar jump on stage for a couple of songs with Loeb's guitarist, Matt Beck. Without any time to rehearse, the duo turned out an impressive mash-up of Sam Li'a Kalainaina's "Hi'ilawe" and Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love (Waterfall)."

It's obvious Loeb enjoys performing here -- during the concert, she showed off some of the hula moves she's learned, and even took time to thank the Hut's employees and security crew working that night. I also got a kick out of how she made a point to thank promoter Andrew Meader's wife, Arlette, for stocking the backstage area with healthy food ...

CONGRATS TO the guys from Olivia the Band, who returned from San Diego last week to celebrate the release of their new album. The first single, "Shut It Out," was featured on the main page of Apple's iTunes Music Store a while back ... I finally got official word from the promoters of "Club 301" that the weekly afterhours party is pau. According to Flash Hansen, "those hours were just killing all of us old guys" ... And that Steel Pulse show I told you about is back on again -- tickets will be available soon for the Feb. 23 concert at the Waikiki Shell ...