Sweet Hollywaiians are based in Osaka,Japan.They were originally street musicians who share a common passion of Hawaiian, Swing, Ragtime, Blues, Calypso and Italian for the 1920s~1930s string band tradition in collecting the music of long forgotten legends like Sol Hoopii, King Bennie Nawahi, Roy Smeck and Eddie Lang. This string quartet containing a dozen of string instruments like a Hawaiian steel guitar ( a lap steel guitar), banjo, tipple, ukulele, mandolin, a bass and guitars. Most of the members are multi-instrumentalist and they change their instruments song by song. Since they founded their band in 2002, so far they have released seven albums. And they have gone to many over sea live performances and earn the great reputations from the audiences in the U.S.A, Canada, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Australia and of course Japan. 

 

Discography 

2007 Hula Girl

2008 Maile Swing / Yumi Ishikawa and her Sweet Hollywaiians

2008 'O Surdato 'Nnammurato / Tom Marion and his Sweet Hollywaiians 
2009 Ticklin’ The Strings

2012 Same Old Song Book / Mr.Fukushima and his Sweet Hollywaiians 
2013 Magic Ukulele Waltz

2013 The Peanut Vendor / Maki Rinka and her Sweet Hollywaiians 

 

International Tours 
2006 USA

2007 USA

2008 USA 
2009 USA

2010 USA, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada 
2011 USA, Australia

2012 USA

2013 Australia

2014 USA 
2015 France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland

 

Festivals
Paris Ukulele Festival 2015 (France)

Hukilau 2014 & 2010 (USA)
Nakasu Jazz Festival 2014 & 2013 (Japan)

Cairns Ukulele Festival 2013 & 2011 (Australia) 
Ukulele Picnic in Hawaii 2011 (USA)

Quebec City Summer Festival 2010 (Canada) 
Denver Ukulele Festival 2009 (USA) 

 

Films

Mighty Uke (2009) 

 

Venues

Freight & Salvage (Berkeley, CA)

The Steve Allen Theater (Los Angeles, CA) 
Old Town Music Hall (El Segundo, CA)
Mai-Kai Restaurant (Ft.Lauderdale, FL)
Swallow Hill (Denver, CO)

Impérial de Québec (Quebec City, Canada) 
Tanks Arts Centre (Cairns, Australia)
La Bellevilloise (Paris, France)

Aux Petits Joueurs (Paris, France)

Jazz Centrum Vlaanderen (Dendermonde, Belgium)

't Ey (Belsele, Belgium)
Mandalay Club (Hamburg, Germany)
Saloppe (Dresden, Germany) 

 

Quotes

"The Sweet Hollywaiians have probably the best feel for this 20's music of any string band working today. They manage the rare feat of sounding relaxed even when their playing is hot, are top notch musicians with tasteful arrangements and a full, rich, warm sound.Plus, they have a nice gamut of tunes, from King Nawahi to Giovanni Vicari to Bobby Leecan. See them live, if you can, for an unforgettable experience. If you can't, buy their Cds!"

~ Terry Zwigoff, Film Director, San Francisco 

 

"I have listened to Sweet Hollywaiians and found the music excellent,exactly to my taste! I was surprised how good the music was,in fact!!"

~ Robert Crumb, Cartoonist, Illustrator, France 

 

“In Japan,there are The Sweet Hollywaiians, with whom I had the pleasure of meeting and playing a guest appearance with when they visited a few months ago. Superb group.”

~ David Barlia, FolkWorks 

 

“Find yourself a copy of this great album !! When will this great group visit Europe?”

~ Dr.Jazz Magazine No.199, IAJRC Journal Vol 41

 

“I went to their myspace page, learned about them and heard just the most...INCREDIBLE music. And thus began my love affair with the Osaka based Sweet Hollywaiians........ Listening to them is like being transported to a 1920s kitchen jam or a small club. They’re just amazing.” ~ AWmusic 

 

“This is arguably the funnest and most romantic album of the year.” 
~ Lucid Culture 

 

“Playing this album by Sweet Hollywaiians is really great fun.It won't be a surprise that I love to recommend you this album - a great document with seldom heard music by a band that knows how it sounded in the 1920s.” 
~ Keep Swinging