The Blind Boys of Alabama are bringing more than 70 years of gospel history to Maui, with a 7 p.m. show set for Dec. 10 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater in Kahului. Tickets run $29, $49, $69 and $89, taxes and fees included, and organizers note prices will climb on the day of the performance.
The concert date and pricing were confirmed by Maui Now, which reported that MACC members can already buy tickets online, with general sales opening to the public at 10 a.m. Friday at mauiarts.org. Members also receive a 10% discount on tickets, and keiki ages 3 to 12 pay half price, according to the same report.
A Seven-Decade Gospel Legacy
Maui Now describes the act as a six-time Grammy Award-winning gospel group, while the Grammy Museum lists the group as winners of five Grammy Awards — the two sources differ on the exact count. What's not in dispute is the group's longevity: its career spans more than 70 years, per Maui Now's reporting, and the band has picked up Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Academy, according to the group's own website, blindboys.com. The Blind Boys of Alabama were also inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the site notes.
The band's catalog stretches well beyond traditional hymnals. Blindboys.com describes a repertoire that ranges from classic gospel standards to contemporary spiritual material written by Eric Clapton, Prince and Tom Waits — a reach that has kept the group relevant across generations of listeners.
Grammy Wins and a Recent Run of Nominations
The group's most recent studio album, “Echoes Of The South,” was released in August 2023 and recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, according to blindboys.com. The record earned three Grammy nominations and won Best Roots Gospel Album, the site states. Its title nods to its own history: the album's name comes from the Birmingham radio program that hosted the Blind Boys' very first professional performance back in 1944, according to the group's Bandcamp page, which also describes the album as pairing traditional spirituals and long-lost gospel classics with vintage soul and R&B tunes.
That 2023 win wasn't a one-off. Blindboys.com notes the group earned a Grammy nomination in 2021 for a collaborative recording with Béla Fleck, followed by another nomination in 2022 for a collaboration with Black Violin. In March 2024, the group's story was further chronicled in a book titled “Spirit of the Century,” described by blindboys.com as the definitive history of the Blind Boys of Alabama.
Bring a Can, Help the Community
Concertgoers are being asked to bring nonperishable items for the Maui Food Bank, per Maui Now's reporting, tying the December date into MACC's broader mission of supporting communities affected by wildfires, hurricanes and floods. More information on tickets is available at mauiarts.org, with membership details listed separately at mauiarts.org/membership.
