Raiatea Helm

vocals & ‘ukulele

“[She] sings in the high-voiced throwback leo ki‘eki‘e style … poised and utterly elegant.” –New York Times

“the foremost female Hawaiian falsetto vocalist of her generation” — Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Raiatea Helm, a two-time Grammy nominee and multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards recipient, is recognized as one of Hawaii’s premier female vocalists. Among her awards, she was honored in Hawai‘i four times as Female Vocalist of the Year. A master of the art of leo kiʻe kiʻe – the Hawaiian falsetto tradition – she shares her experiences and knowledge of Hawaiʻi’s rich history through traditional mele [songs]. Her music career spans 20 years and includes seven album releases, recorded and performed with legendary musicians including Keola Beamer, Aunty Genoa Keawe, Keali’i Reichel, Willie K and Mick Fleetwood.

Her most recent album, A Legacy of Hawaiian Song and String, Volume 1, breathes new life into song selections composed, performed and popularized in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through this masterpiece, Raiatea presents a musical contribution of the stories, poetry and emotions of a once flourishing independent nation. Produced in partnership with the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, the music captured on this album will be remembered for generations to come. This recording recently placed #4 on Folk Alley Favorites: Best Trad of 2023 year-end roundup of “the albums that take traditional roots in new directions, … artists that are changing the way we think about traditional music.”

This album also garnered Raiatea a sweep at the 2024 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, winning 7 awards including Female Vocalist of the Year, Best Album of the Year, Hawaiian Music Album, Haku Mele (best song in Hawaiian Language), and Hawaiian Language Awards, along with awards for Engineering and Hawaiian Liner Notes.

Transcending its historical context, this project reclaims the narrative of Hawai‘i’s musical past, rediscovering the breadth and depth of this musical heritage before the story was overshadowed by colonial influences. This repertoire, which toured the U.S. during this era, reminds the world “to remember that Hawaiian music in the early 1900s was a global phenomenon, a driver of wide technological change. If you like the pedal steel in country, the slide guitar in blues, or even the electric guitar in rock, you owe a debt to Hawaiians.” (Folk Alley) Notes project collaborator Kilin Reece, “It’s an incredibly vibrant and untold story.”

A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – she took a break from touring to earn her degree — she is the first Hawaiian Musical Artist Fellow of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation and the 2021 awardee of the foundation’s SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts program. Most recently, she was inducted into the inaugural Maui Nui Hall of Fame.