The island's most prestigious entertainment venue is the $28 million Maui Arts and Cultural Center, in Kahului ([tel] 808/242-7469). Bonnie Raitt has performed here, as have B. B. King, Hiroshima, Pearl Jam, Ziggy Marley, Lou Rawls, the American Indian Dance Theatre, Jonny Lang, and Tony Bennett, not to mention Keali`i Reichel and the finest in local and Hawaii talent. The center is as precious to Maui as the Met is to New York, with a visual-arts gallery, an outdoor amphitheater, offices, rehearsal space, a 300-seat theater for experimental performances, and a 1,200-seat main theater. Whether it's hula, the Iona Pear Dance Company, Willie Nelson, or the Maui Symphony Orchestra, only the best appear here. The center's activities are well publicized locally, so check the Maui News or ask your hotel concierge what's going on during your visit.

back to top

Luaus

Most of the larger hotels in Maui's major resorts offer luaus on a regular basis. You'll pay about $65 to attend one. To protect yourself from disappointment, don't expect it to be a homegrown affair prepared in the traditional Hawaiian way. There are, however, commercial luaus that capture the romance and spirit of the luau with quality food and entertainment in outdoor settings.

Maui's best luau is indisputably the nightly Old Lahaina Luau ([tel] 808/667-1998). On its 1-acre site just oceanside of the Lahaina Cannery, the Old Lahaina Luau maintains its high standards in food and entertainment, in a oceanfront setting that is peerless. Local craftspeople display their wares only a few feet from the ocean. Seating is provided on lauhala mats for those who wish to dine as the traditional Hawaiians did, but there are tables for everyone else. There's no fire dancing in the program, but you won't miss it. This luau offers a healthy balance of entertainment, showmanship, authentic high-quality food, educational value, and sheer romantic beauty. (No watered-down mai tais, either; these are the real thing.)

The luau begins at sunset and features Tahitian and Hawaiian entertainment, including ancient hula, hula from the missionary era, modern hula, and an intelligent narrative on the dance's rocky course of survival into modern times. The entertainment is riveting, even for jaded locals. The food, which is served from an open-air thatched structure, is as much Pacific Rim as authentically Hawaiian: imu-roasted kalua pig, baked mahimahi in Maui onion cream sauce, guava chicken, teriyaki sirloin steak, lomi salmon, poi, dried fish, poke, Hawaiian sweet potato, sautéed vegetables, seafood salad, and the ultimate taste treat, taro leaves with coconut milk. The cost is $70 for adults, $40 for children, plus tax.

back to top

The Music Scene

Hawaiian Music: Except for Casanova in Makawao and Maui Brews in Lahaina, nightlife options on this island are limited. The major hotels generally have lobby lounges offering Hawaiian music, soft jazz, or hula shows beginning at sunset. If Hapa, Willie K. and Amy Gilliom, or the soloist Keali'i Reichel are playing anywhere on their native island, don't miss them; they're among the finest Hawaiian musicians around today.

Jazz & Blues: To find out what's happening in jazz or blues, stop by Pizazz Cafe Kihei. It's the local nightlife nexus for this genre, with live jazz and a southern-Hawaiian menu. From Tuesday through Sunday nights, live jazz brings throngs.

back to top

West Maui: Lahaina After Dark

The buzz in Lahaina is `Ulalena, Maui Myth and Magic Theatre, 878 Front St. ([tel] 808/661-9913), a riveting evening of entertainment that weaves Hawaiian mythology with drama, dance, and state-of-the-art multimedia capabilities in a brand-new, multimillion-dollar theater. Polynesian dance, original music, acrobatics, and chant, performed by a local and international cast, combine to create an evocative experience that often leaves the audience speechless. It's interactive, with dancers coming down the aisles, drummers and musicians in surprising corners, and mind-boggling stage and lighting effects that draw the audience in. Some special moments: the goddesses dancing on the moon, the white sail of the first Europeans, the wrath of the volcano goddess Pele, the labors of the field-worker immigrants. The story unfolds seamlessly; at the end, you'll be shocked to realize that not a single word of dialogue was spoken.

Maui Brews ([tel] 808/667-7794) draws the late-night crowd to its corner of the Lahaina Center with swing, salsa, reggae, and jams. There's live music every night except weekends; ladies' night is Thursday. Hours are daily from 11:30am, with happy hour from 3 to 6pm and nightclub hours from 9pm to 1:30am.

At Longhi's ([tel] 808/667-2288), live music spills out into the streets from 9:30pm on weekends. It's usually salsa or jazz, but call ahead to confirm. Other special gigs can be expected if rock-and-rollers or jazz musicians who are friends of the owner happen to be passing through.

You won't have to ask what's going on at Cheeseburger in Paradise ([tel] 808/661-4855), the two-story green-and-white building at the corner of Front and Lahainaluna streets. Just go outside and you'll hear it. Loud, live, and lively tropical rock blasts into the streets and out to sea nightly from 4:30 to 11pm.

back to top

South Maui After Dark

Kihei is the place for jazz (see above), and in Wailea, The Grand Wailea Resort's Tsunami has been renamed Game in the Bar ([tel] 808/875-1234). Yes, it is a sports bar with pool tables, shuffleboard, and a game-club atmosphere to add to its techno beat. There's disco music and dancing nightly in the 10,000-square-foot club with laser lights and large video screens. Cover charge: $10 for non-hotel guest (no charge for guests).

back to top

Upcountry Maui After Dark

Upcountry in Makawao, the party never ends at Casanova ([tel] 808/572-0220), the popular Italian ristorante where the good times roll with the pasta. The newly renovated bar area has large booths, all the better for socializing around the stage and dance floor. If a big-name mainland band is resting up on Maui following a sold-out concert on Oahu, you may find its members setting up for an impromptu night here. DJs take over on Wednesday (ladies' night) and Thursday nights. Every other Thursday is a fund-raiser for the Maui AIDS Society, and on Friday and Saturday, live entertainment draws fun-lovers from even the most remote reaches of the island. Entertainment starts at 9:45pm and continues to 1:30am. Expect good blues, rock-and-roll, reggae, jazz, Hawaiian, and the top names in local and visiting entertainment. Elvin Bishop, the local duo Hapa, Los Lobos, and many others have filled Casanova's stage and limelight. The cover is usually $5.

back to top