Live audio · Technical direction · Event production
You worry about your guests. I’ll worry about the room.
I’m Nalu. I mix, direct and produce live events across Hawaiʻi, from hotel general sessions and galas to concerts, lūʻau and community nights. Behind a console since 2010, and still the first one in the room.
Nalu means wave. Every frame in this film is mine: my shows, my shoreline.
Shows and rooms I’ve worked
- Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards
- Nā Lei Aloha Lūʻau, Hyatt Regency Waikīkī
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs
- Kamehameha Schools
- Hilton Hawaiian Village
- Grand Wailea, Maui
- Sheraton Waikīkī
- Kawaiahaʻo Church
- Hawaiian Island Ministries
- New Hope Oʻahu
2010
First night behind a console. Camera, then A1, then the whole show.
6
Islands I work, from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi Island.
1
Person to call, from the first walk-through to the last road case.
Same day
How fast I usually reply. Every request gets me, not a form letter.
Every channel has a name.
Tape on the strip, a name in marker, and a level I already know before doors open. Kick, pahu, ipu, slack key, the kumu’s oli and the lead vocal all get the same care. This is a small copy of my desk on show day.
What you can hand me
Most shows use two or three of these. Big ones use all six.
Live sound engineering
FOH, monitors and system tech. I build your show file before load-in, tune the system for the room you actually have, and mix so the back row hears the same speech as the front table.
Technical direction and show calling
Somebody has to own the run of show. I call cues across audio, video, lighting and stage, so your CEO, your kumu or your headliner walks out on time and on mic.
Event production
Stage, sound, LED, lighting, power and crew. I design it, get competing quotes, book the right vendors and run the day. You get one person to call.
Production consulting
Venue and church system audits, purchase planning, training, and line-by-line reviews of quotes you already have in hand.
Hawaiian cultural production
Oli, mele, hula, pahu and ipu. Protocol first, then microphones. Cultural programs get the same planning as a general session, plus the respect they have earned.
Touring artists
Flying in? Send me the rider. I’ll source PA and backline, advance the venue, and either mix your show or set your engineer up for a clean night.
Rooms I know by heart
Hotel ballrooms with air walls that never quite seal. Breakout rooms where the air conditioning is louder than the presenter. State and county venues with a rule for everything. Private halls like Koʻolau Ballrooms, where the mountains do half the work. I’ve loaded in through most of the docks on Oʻahu, and I know which freight elevators fit a road case and which ones don’t.
Hotel ballrooms and breakouts
General sessions, banquets and four-room breakout tracks. I work with the in-house AV team or alongside them, and I read the AV clause in your contract before you sign it.
State and county venues
Convention halls, shells, parks and civic spaces. Permits, insurance certificates, power plans and noise rules go into the schedule on day one.
Private venues
Ballrooms, estates and event halls with more freedom on vendors. I know the load-ins, the power and how sound carries in the space.
Outdoors
Lawns, beaches and courtyards. Trade winds, passing showers, generators and neighbors all get a plan.
Big budget or tight one, same ears
The big show
Multi-room conferences, award nights and concerts with seven-figure production budgets. I came up inside the busiest hotel AV operations in the islands, so I know how they quote, how they staff, and where a show that size usually goes sideways.
The community night
A school fundraiser in a cafetorium. A hālau hōʻike. A church anniversary. A canoe club banquet. Smaller budgets get my full attention. Because I know the vendors and the rooms, I can usually get you more for less than you were quoted, and I will tell you honestly what you can skip.
Already have a quote?
Good. Send it to me. I’ll go line by line and tell you what’s fair, what to question and what it should really cost. Labor minimums, patch fees, a service charge stacked on another service charge. You’d be surprised what hides on page three.
You don’t have to switch vendors to use it. And if you do book with me afterward, the review fee comes off your total.
An example of a marked-up quote. Every room and contract is different, and sometimes the honest answer is that your quote is fair.
How a show comes together
- A real conversation. Fifteen minutes on the phone. What the event is, who’s in the room, what went wrong last time.
- A walk of the room. Power, sightlines, load-in, and what the venue contract says about outside AV.
- One clear proposal. My work, plus every vendor’s number, in one view you can read on your phone. No surprise lines.
- The advance. Input lists, run of show, stage plot, crew calls. By show week, nothing is a question.
- Show day. I’m there first. Line check, sound check, run the show, strike clean.
- Wrap. Final invoice within a few days, and an honest debrief of what to keep and what to change next year.
Where I’ve worked
- Show caller for the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, multiple seasons
- Technical director, Nā Lei Aloha Lūʻau at the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī
- Event production for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Kamehameha Schools
- A/V at Kawaiahaʻo Church, now a consulting client
- Ballroom and conference AV at Hilton Hawaiian Village and Grand Wailea
- Ten years at New Hope Oʻahu, from camera to A1
- Audio for Hawaiian Island Ministries, mixing FOH on a Yamaha CL5
- New Year’s show at Grand Wailea, Maui
- Ballroom show at the Sheraton Waikīkī, 2025
More from the booth: @nalumedia on Instagram.
Tell me about the show.
Date, room, rough headcount, and whatever is keeping you up at night. I answer every request myself, usually the same day.
Rather write? Email me at nalu@nalumedia.dev with the date and the room.