\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything that I represent has to do with the culture and the lifestyle of Hawaii<\/a>,\u201d Glenn Awong says. \u201cBringing it out here is really easy for me. I\u2019m just being me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAwong is best known as Maoli<\/a>, the performing moniker for the Maui native who is, by most metrics, one of the brightest stars in the 50th state. Since beginning as a reggae artist in the mid-2000s, Maoli has steadily incorporated elements of country, culminating in Last Sip of Summer<\/em>, a decidedly country record that dropped earlier this summer. A subsequent U.S. tour of historic venues like L.A.\u2019s Greek Theatre and San Diego\u2019s Rady Shell was enough to land Maoli an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry<\/a>: He\u2019ll make his debut on Nashville\u2019s most famous stage on Nov. 21.<\/p>\n \n\tLoosely translated, \u201cMaoli\u201d means \u201cnative,\u201d and Awong\u2019s music is steeped in Hawaii history.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen it comes to reggae music, we can relate to Jamaica, because we\u2019re both island people,\u201d Awong tells Rolling Stone. \u201cWe can relate to country music<\/a>, because in Hawaii, there\u2019s a lot of country living. There\u2019s a history of cowboys there, and you can date it back to the late 1700s. Cowboy living and island living? You\u2019re describing country-reggae. Hawaii is such a melting pot of so many cultures, we got to witness so many different things. The music, the food, the history. We put it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe recent Maoli run across the American west left an impression on Awong. The Greek Theatre show in mid-July, for instance, was a sellout. It also marked Maoli\u2019s first time playing in Los Angeles. Still, with a capacity under 6,000, it\u2019s nowhere near the crowd Maoli commands in Hawaii. Back-to-back sellouts in June at Honolulu\u2019s Blaisdell Arena overshadow most of the stateside run \u2014\u00a0with the exception of an early August concert at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n