This Hawaiian Singer Is Finding His Lane in Country

Maoli, a Hawaiian artist who started out making reggae, is finding a natural, new path in country music. – Credit: Reggie Villa*

“Everything that I represent has to do with the culture and the lifestyle of Hawaii,” Glenn Awong says. “Bringing it out here is really easy for me. I’m just being me.”

Awong is best known as Maoli, the performing moniker for the Maui native who is, by most metrics, one of the brightest stars in the 50th state. Since beginning as a reggae artist in the mid-2000s, Maoli has steadily incorporated elements of country, culminating in Last Sip of Summer, a decidedly country record that dropped earlier this summer. A subsequent U.S. tour of historic venues like L.A.’s Greek Theatre and San Diego’s Rady Shell was enough to land Maoli an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry: He’ll make his debut on Nashville’s most famous stage on Nov. 21.

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Loosely translated, “Maoli” means “native,” and Awong’s music is steeped in Hawaii history.

“When it comes to reggae music, we can relate to Jamaica, because we’re both island people,” Awong tells Rolling Stone. “We can relate to country music, because in Hawaii, there’s a lot of country living. There’s a history of cowboys there, and you can date it back to the late 1700s. Cowboy living and island living? You’re describing country-reggae. Hawaii is such a melting pot of so many cultures, we got to witness so many different things. The music, the food, the history. We put it all together.”

The recent Maoli run across the American west left an impression on Awong. The Greek Theatre show in mid-July, for instance, was a sellout. It also marked Maoli’s first time playing in Los Angeles. Still, with a capacity under 6,000, it’s nowhere near the crowd Maoli commands in Hawaii. Back-to-back sellouts in June at Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena overshadow most of the stateside run — with the exception of an early August concert at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But it’s notable that the country bent of Last Sip of Summer has brought a fresh wave of fans to Maoli, and it has done so without playing into cliches about reggae or tropical music. This is a country record, recorded in Nashville with the help of Dann Huff and David Huff — two of the most influential producers in recent country music history. When Awong sings “Lonely Won’t Leave Me Alone” over just a hint of reggae percussion, he puts his Maui accent on full display.

It’s a country record, but it’s true to Awong. He’s not stretching or playing a part. He’s as country as it gets, and this record was his way of letting the world know.

“I just wanted to make this album for me,” he says. “I didn’t want to do it for fans or anyone other than me. I’m a huge country fan, and I wanted to make a country album.”

Where does your approach to music fit in Hawaii?
There were a lot of artists before me back home. Hawaii has its own industry. You can really make a great living just playing Hawaii. You can almost just play weddings alone. There’s a lot of OG’s there, who have been doing the country-reggae thing for a lot longer than I have. I just took it to a place where the world is starting to hear it. I just can’t take credit for it. Artists like Kapena and Kaʻau Crater Boys, they’ve been doing this way longer than I have. We just took it to another level.

Can you elaborate on your country influences?
I was raised in the country, for one. My grandpa was a cowboy and farmer. He used to play music, and he loved country music. I was raised on George Strait, Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, and George Jones. I loved the storytelling of country music, and even though reggae is much bigger in Hawaii, I just resonated with those stories about red dirt roads, pickup trucks. That’s the lifestyle we live. I could bond with it.

It’s not the biggest genre in Hawaii, but I’ve definitely helped it. I’m not saying it to brag. I am the biggest-streaming artist in Hawaii. What I want people to understand is that country music is a lifestyle, and I really would like the Polynesians that I’m around to see the cowboy life and realize that we’re very similar. You just don’t know it.

This is my gift, man, and I want to share it. If you’re not sharing it, then it’s not a gift at all.

What about making Last Sip of Summer most resonates with you?
That was my first time recording in Nashville. What blew my mind is how all the musicians and producers were in the studio at the same time. I’m used to giving a producer an idea, and they’re not even in the room with me. I’ll start working on it and send it back to them. I never went into a studio where the whole band was there, and I watched Dann Huff do his thing, and I sang the songs with the band. I’d never done that before.

Josh Crutchmer is a journalist and author whose latest books, Never Say Never and Red Dirt Unplugged are available via Back Lounge Publishing.

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