{"id":15322,"date":"2025-08-27T12:50:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T22:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=15322"},"modified":"2025-11-13T08:00:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T18:00:17","slug":"2025-alumni-spotlight-kalae-parish-musician-kapolei-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/2025-alumni-spotlight-kalae-parish-musician-kapolei-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight: Kala\u02bbe Parish, musician (Kapolei High)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kala\u02bbe Parish\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Medium<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Occupation: <\/strong>Musician
What school you grad? <\/strong>Kapolei High School \u201808
College:<\/strong> Linfield College
Location: <\/strong>Waimea, Hawai\u02bbi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask Kala\u02bbe Parish why he moved from O\u02bbahu to Hawai\u02bbi Island, and he\u2019ll probably just point you to the first few lines of his song \u201cIsland Life<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City lights are shining<\/em>
Beautiful sight, you might say<\/em>
But they don’t compare to a starry sky at night <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Native Hawaiian country singer-songwriter from West O\u02bbahu attended Tr\u01b0\u1eddng ti\u1ec3u h\u1ecdc P\u014dh\u0101kea<\/strong>, Tr\u01b0\u1eddng ti\u1ec3u h\u1ecdc Leih\u014dk\u016b<\/strong> and Friendship Christian Schools. While sports was his main focus growing up, Parish always loved music and the idea of songwriting. He wrote his first song as a sixth grader at Tr\u01b0\u1eddng trung h\u1ecdc c\u01a1 s\u1edf Kapolei<\/strong> and later represented Tr\u01b0\u1eddng trung h\u1ecdc Kapolei<\/strong> in \u201cBrown Bags to Stardom,\u201d the talent showcase competition for Hawai\u02bbi youth. As a young boy, he spent summers and spring breaks working at grandfather\u2019s farm in Ka\u02bb\u016b on Hawai\u02bbi Island. After college, he pursued music full time and moved out to Waimea, where continues to find inspiration for much of his songwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parish has shared the stage with top country artists including Billy Currington, Brett Young, Rascal Flatt’s lead singer Gary Levox and LeAnn Rimes. His music has been featured on the big screen, including in commercial ads for YETI, Pacifico Beer and the popular Netflix series \u201cLove is Blind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the 2025 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards, he took home Album of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year for \u201cWhere I\u2019m Going\u201d, Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year (Composer Award, \u201cKickin’ Back\u201d) and a shared win with his wife, Kalena, for Christmas Album of the Year (\u201cKala\u02bbe + Kalena + Kalikimaka\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Briefly describe your journey after high school.<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T: <\/strong>After graduating from Linfield College in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in business\u2014where I also played four years of collegiate football as a free safety\u2014I returned home in 2013 and began performing solo and with a band across O\u02bbahu. In 2014, I took on full-time management of my grandfather\u2019s farm on the Big Island. By 2018, I began developing a solo music project inspired by life in the islands. Over the past five years, that journey has led to opening for internationally recognized artists and earning multiple N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are you up to these days?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T: <\/strong>I built a home on my property on Hawai\u02bbi Island, where I\u2019ve been raising cattle, horses and pigs. In my spare time, I love training horses and riding all over the island. Over the past year, I\u2019ve been touring in support of my latest album, \u201cWhere I\u2019m Going,\u201d which was recently honored with six N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards including Album of the Year. I\u2019ve been performing full-time since its release. In addition to performing, I also teach songwriting at the Kapena School of Music, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and serve as the program director for educational opportunities with the Henry Kapono Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Why did you choose this career path and what do you enjoy most about it?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> I chose this career path because I\u2019ve always had a passion for music and songwriting. When I graduated college, I knew that at some point I would want to pursue music full time. The thing I enjoy the most is performing, but I also enjoy writing songs for TV and film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What makes you #PublicSchoolProud?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> I think public schools often carry the stereotype of being \u201cnot as good,\u201d especially in academics or athletics compared to private schools. But I\u2019m a success story from a public school on the west side\u2014proof that you can find academic success, a career, and a strong future through public education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Favorite subject in school?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T: <\/strong>Ti\u1ebfng Anh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Favorite school lunch or breakfast?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> Chicken sandwich<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What type of extracurricular activities were you involved in?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> Football, wrestling and track and field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Name of a teacher or mentor you\u2019d like to thank?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> Mrs. Wray, Mrs. O, Mrs. Ifuku, Mrs. Walker. These were all my business academy teachers at Kapolei High School who believed in me and inspired me to be an entrepreneur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What advice do you have for students?<\/strong>
M\u1ed8T:<\/strong> The only person you need to believe in you is yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Medium
Kapolei High graduate Kala\u02bbe Parish performs his song \u201cKickin’ Back,\u201d which won Song of the Year, at the 2025 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards at the Sheraton Waikiki on June 21. Parish took home five awards that night, including Album of the Year. Photo courtesy: Kala\u02bbe Parish<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kala\u02bbe Parish\u00a0 Occupation: MusicianWhat school you grad? Kapolei High School \u201808College: Linfield CollegeLocation: Waimea, Hawai\u02bbi Ask Kala\u02bbe Parish why he moved from O\u02bbahu to Hawai\u02bbi Island, and he\u2019ll probably just point you to the first few lines of his song \u201cIsland Life.\u201d\u00a0 City lights are shiningBeautiful sight, you might sayBut they don’t compare to a […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"10412,15784,16789,11230,10227,9867","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,22,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-spotlight","category-hoohaaheo","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":59,"label":"Alumni Spotlight"},{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":59,"name":"Alumni Spotlight","slug":"alumni-spotlight","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":59,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":22,"count":15,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":59,"category_count":15,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Alumni Spotlight","category_nicename":"alumni-spotlight","category_parent":22},{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":67,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":67,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":306,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":306,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 06:09:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}