Contact:
Kaleo  847-774-4056
makanigirls@yahoo.com

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Aloha,

Have a look around and check back soon for a list of 2012 performance dates.

A hui hou (until we meet again),

Makani

The Makani Story 

The Lee sisters began singing in 2003 simply to learn a little about their Hawaiian culture.  Singing was only done in the privacy of their home just outside of Chicago.  The following year while expecting the arrival of their new sister Gracie, the three older sisters prepared a song welcoming her to the world and their family.  For the next couple years, the girls would sing at the dinner table or in the car.  Their father Kaleo Lee, a Hawaiian entertainer, remembers many occasions of putting the children to bed and playing guitar in the darkened hallway while the kids would sing quietly along in their beds before falling asleep.

 

 In 2007, Kaleo Lee and family were invited to attend a Hawaiian Themed Fundraiser for a friend of the family who had taken ill.  Kaleo was playing music with his father and uncle and eventually asked the girls to sing a song.  The four girls, ages 2-10, began singing the intro to their favorite song, ‘Wahine ‘Ilikea’… in three part harmony.  Kaleo said, “Thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses at the time because I got a little choked up.  The audience response was overwhelming.”  The Lee family suffered the loss of both grandmothers in the past year.  Their mom, Therese Lee, said to the girls while hugging them, “Grandma and Tutu heard all of you from Heaven!” 

The Lee Family was asked back as Featured Performers for the groups’ annual Christmas Party and it was a success.  The girls decided to form a group name and came up with MAKANI.  In the Hawaiian language, Makani means wind.  This was to reference the ‘Windy City’ of Chicago.

Makani was born and soon they would perform for various audiences including restaurants, banquet halls, elementary schools, a local college, many cultural heritage festivals and churches in Illinois and Indiana.  A proud moment for Makani was in October ’08 when they performed two songs for the legendary Leialoha Lim Amina and Mel Amina for the Hula Association of the Midwest ‘Hawaiian Hula Days’ Ho’ike Celebration.

In 2008, the three oldest sisters began learning Hula from the very talented Shasta Puanani Hud, Kumu Hula (Hula Instructor) for the Halau (School) ‘Halau Hula O Puanani’, based out of Downers Grove, IL.

Makani is a young group of angelic voices prepared to bring a taste of Hawai’i to your Polynesian Themed event.  We offer a one hour Performance and Lei Greetings for your guests.  Think of Makani when you plan your Polynesian event in Chicago’s Windy City.

Aloha,

Your friends at Makani