Kealiʻi Reichel

Kealiʻi Reichel (born Carleton Lewis Kealiʻinaniaimokuokalani Reichel, June 26, 1962) is a Hawaiian falsetto vocalist, chanter (oli), composer, and kumu hula (hula master) from Maui. Raised in Lahaina and in the plantation town of Pāʻia, he attended Lahainaluna High School before studying Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaiʻi, where at age 17 he began learning traditional chant. He went on to study Hawaiian dance and vocal performance under Kumu Hula Pekelo Day and under Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, daughter of the noted Hawaiian scholar and kumu hula Edith Kanakaʻole. At 18, he founded his own hālau hula on Maui, later known as Hālau Keʻalaokamaile, and he went on to co-found Pūnana Leo o Maui, a Hawaiian-language immersion preschool, and to work as a Hawaiian culture and language instructor at Maui Community College and as a cultural resource specialist and curator at the Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.

In 1994, at age 32, Reichel self-released his debut album, Kawaipunahele, on his own Punahele label after being turned down by major labels. The album became an immediate best-seller in Hawaiʻi and was later certified RIAA Gold, launching his recording career. He followed it with Lei Haliʻa (1995), E O Mai (1997), Melelana (1999), Keʻalaokamaile (2003), and later releases including the retrospective collection Kamahiwa (2005) and Kawaiokalena (2014). His albums Keʻalaokamaile and Kawaiokalena each received Grammy Award nominations, and he has won numerous Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards (Hawaiʻi's principal music awards) across categories including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Hawaiian Album of the Year. In 2010 he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame for his contributions across Hawaiian music, chant, and hula.

Alongside his recording career, Reichel has continued to lead Hālau Keʻalaokamaile and to perform annual concerts (including the long-running Kūkahi concert series with the Maui Arts & Cultural Center) that combine music, chant, and hula. He has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl and toured internationally, while remaining active as a teacher and cultural practitioner devoted to the perpetuation of Hawaiian language, chant, and dance.