Cruz to open Kahilu season

The Kahilu Theater in Waimea opens its 2014-15 season with a pair of concerts Saturday and Sunday.

Hawaii’s singer-songwriter John Cruz will play an evening of “Waimea Cowboy Soul Music” in the heart of paniolo country at 7 p.m. Saturday. His brothers, Ernie Cruz Jr., Guy Cruz and Tony Cruz will join him onstage with special guest Keikilani Lindsey, who just released a new album, “Mele‘uhane” (Spirit of Song), will open.

Cruz’s soulful voice paired with passionately honest lyrics gained him international recognition and have taken him to venues from Carnegie Hall to the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

His album “Acoustic Soul,” to date, has sold more than 150,000 copies in Hawaii alone and includes local classics such as “Shine On,” “Sitting in Limbo” and “Island Style.”

His second album, “One of These Days,” debuted firmly at No. 1 in Hawaii, No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and No. 6 on the Billboard World Chart. Honolulu Magazine named the album one of the “Top 25 Greatest Hawaii Albums of the New Century” in 2012.

Ticket prices range from $20 to $66.

The second “APPLAUSE from the Kahilu,” a showcase of Hawaii Island artists that will be recorded for broadcast by Hawaii Public Radio, is slated for 4 p.m. Sunday. The concert will include opera star Amy Mills with Everett Knowles on the Kahilu grand piano, classical favorites by The Kamuela Philharmonic’s Magic Strings Quartet and jazz by the Bill Noble Quintet featuring singer Betsy Curtis.

Tickets range from $5 to $20.

Seats for both shows are available online at http://kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868 or at the Kahilu box office.