Hawaiian Grammy
Awards Banquet

TIME FOR A SONG: U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, second from left, was the celebrity guest as well as the keynote speaker Wednesday when the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) presented its Hawaiian Grammy Awards Banquet honoring Hawaii's 2005 Grammy Award finalists at the Sheraton Waikiki. Senator Akaka rose to the occasion when 'Ale'a -- Kale Hannahs, left, Chad Takasugi and Ryan "Gonzo" Gonzalez -- introduced him and invited him on stage. The ad hoc quartet's rendition of "Kamakani Kaili Aloha" was an early surprise in an evening of great Hawaiian music that continued almost two hours after the banquet was scheduled to end -- as if anybody complained about that! Slack key guitarists John Cruz, Charlie Racaido, Charles Michael Brotman and Jeff Peterson kept the music going past 10 p.m.

THE "WITCH" TAKES THE NIGHT OFF: Puakea Nogelmeier, left, enjoyed the evening with 2005 Grammy finalist Keali'i Reichel. Reichel's Grammy nominated album, "Ke'laokamaile," won seven Na Hoku Hanohano Awards -- including Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Hawaiian Album of the Year -- in 2004. Reichel told the crowd that his hula students on Maui were delighted that the banquet was on a Wednesday: "Tonight is hula night but the witch is gone!"

CONGRATULATIONS, CHARLES!: Grammy Award-winning producer Charles Michael Brotman, third from left, met "Slack Key Guitar Volume 2" participants Charlie Recaido, left, Jeff Peterson and Sonny Lim outside the ballroom. The album is a compilation, and so Brotman, the producer, was the only Grammy winner, but the guys are clearly a musical ohana

SHE WATCHES FOR FEATHERS: Manu Boyd, left, caught up with Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and John Austin. Gilliom entertained the crowd with a story about the time she accidently inhaled a feather while she was performing in Japan and her voice suddenly sounded "like the 'Exorcist.' "

ERIC KNOWS ROCK: Eric Gilliom, center, greeted "Slack Key Guitar Volume 2" guitarists John Cruz, left, and Randy Lorenzo before taking the stage with Grammy finalist Willie K. The duo meshed perfectly in a tight blend of Hawaiian, hapa-haole, comedy and intense acoustic rock.