12/10/2025
The Music Roadtrip app is rolling into Honolulu, Hawaii, a city shaped by decades of reggae, rock, and touring pop acts hitting the islands. Rooms here balance local history with whatever’s coming off the mainland next. Here are five essential stops.
🎸 The Republik is the island’s primary midsize room and the place most national acts hit when they come to O‘ahu. Turnstile, JPEGMAFIA, Mitski, Omar Apollo, and The 1975 have all come through recently, along with a steady wave of reggae tours. The clean layout and sharp production crew give the room a reputation as one of the most reliable stops in the Pacific.
🎤 Blaisdell Center dates back to 1964 and sits at the center of Honolulu’s entertainment history. Elvis’ 1973 Aloha from Hawaii satellite concert was filmed here, and the building later hosted generations of major pop, rock, and island-music tours. The room still carries that lineage; big shows hit here first, and locals have decades of memories tied to it.
🎶 HBSC remains one of the busiest multi-room setups in the city. Touring metal, hip-hop, and indie acts all cycle through, and local reggae, Jawaiian, and DJ crews treat it as a proving ground. The schedule rarely slows down, and the crowds are used to digging in late.
💿 Hungry Ear Records opened in 1980, making it Hawaii’s oldest record store. Generations of island musicians have come through these bins — from early Jawaiian players to members of The Green, Natural Vibrations, and the broader local reggae scene. The shop’s deep Hawai‘i section is one of the best snapshots of how island music evolved over the last forty years.
🍺 NextDoor sits in the middle of Chinatown and has been one of Honolulu’s most consistent club stages since the 2000s. Electronic shows, indie bills, rap nights, and experimental artists all cycle through, and the venue was an early platform for local creatives who helped shape the neighborhood’s arts identity.
🧭 Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority keeps travelers plugged into events and cultural happenings across Honolulu and the islands.
🚐 We’re Music Roadtrip, a travel app for music fans. Follow us to discover legendary venues, record stores, and music landmarks across the country. Our app launches this January. Learn more at musicroadtrip.com.
