Johnson, Harper Groove at Kokua

As far as festivals go, Kokua, hosted by Oahu surf folkie Jack Johnson, has got to be the mellowest -- pretty much just like Jack. How could it not be? To begin with, there's the lineup: Johnson is joined by fellow folkie Ben Harper and Maui's own native son, Willie Nelson. Then there are the naturally beautiful venues, at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on April 19th and at Honolulu's Waikiki Shell on Saturday, Earth Day. And finally, of course, there's the cause: The festival is a fundraiser to raise environmental awareness in Hawaii.

Now in its third year, the festival perfectly reflects Maui's laidback sensibility and musical tastes. In the late afternoon on opening day, the crowd filed past tens of palm trees into the venue to the California funk of Animal Liberation Orchestra. For additional local flavor, the ambassador of aloha, Henry Kapono, and new Hawaiian reggae talent Paula Fuga rounded out the opening bill.

Fans were eager to hear Ben Harper play songs off his new double-CD, Both Sides of the Gun, half ballads and half assault rock. But when Harper actually took the stage, the set was a bit muted, with the soulful singer choosing to sit down with an acoustic guitar across his lap. Much like his half-and-half album, the crowd reaction was mixed: half appreciative, and half distracted, wandering the grounds with beer in hand. Harper, however, hardly seemed to notice, sticking mainly to slower numbers. Or maybe he was just on Maui time.

As the sun began to set, Nelson and his backup band, the Planetary Bandits, rode in and saved the day, reviving the energy with the traditional opener, "Whiskey River." Fans immediately got to their feet, as the veteran country man ran through classics like "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and the moodier "Crazy." Nelson also offered some takes from his recent effort, Countryman, his deep-fried Texas take on reggae standards, including the Jimmy Cliff hit "The Harder They Come." (Side note: On any given day, Maui smells good -- hibiscus, plumeria and orchids are common. But it smells that much better when Willie's playing, as fragrant clouds of pot smoke drifted through the crowd of some 5,000 fans.)

With the crowd jazzed after Nelson, Jack Johnson -- usually such a sleepy performer -- performed an outstanding, energetic set that had people smiling. The audience danced to the crowd-pleasers "Sitting," "Upside Down" (off his Curious George soundtrack) and "Bubbletoes" (off Brushfire Fairytales). Flip-flops were kicked off, children boogied with their mothers, and the sound clarity was amazing.

Other highlights included a slow, loose version of Bob Marley's "Stir It Up" and a clean and upbeat rendition of "Good People." With Kapono joining him onstage, the band eased into a beautiful take on Kenny Loggins' "Danny's Song (Even though We Ain't Got Money)" that had the fans singing along. In the breaks between songs, you could hear a pin drop. Harper joined Johnson -- to a far more riled-up crowd -- on "Flake" and "Two Hands." The finale, "Blue Eyes," had Johnson, Nelson and Harper sharing the stage. You had to feel lucky to be there.

As the evening wound down, the crowd quietly exited as the Hawaiian Tradewinds picked up. They look tired but happy -- surfed out, sunned out and certainly smoked out.