In this interview, Hawaiian musician and kumu hula Josh Chang speaks with KGNU’s Rodger Hara about his deep cultural roots, multigenerational family legacy, and the upcoming hula concert in Longmont, Colorado. With ties to Oʻahu, Maui, and the Big Island, Chang has spent over a decade teaching hula in Boulder and surrounding communities. The Longmont performance—set for June 21 at the Vance Brand Theater—will honor his late father and showcase both traditional (kahiko) and contemporary (ʻauana) hula, featuring dancers trained in Colorado. Chang emphasizes the passion, discipline, and aloha that have gone into the production, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime experience that celebrates Hawaiian culture through music, movement, and legacy. (Interview: 6/4/25)
Rodger Hara: Welcome to KGNU. Josh, how are you today?
Josh Chang: Aloha! I am doing very well. How are you, Rodger?
Rodger Hara: I’m good, thank you. Tell me about yourself. How did you get into playing Hawaiian music?
Josh Chang: I was exposed to my culture from a very young age. I grew up in a very well-known family of musicians and hula practitioners within the Hawaiian community.
I guess you could say I really had no choice but to learn what I know today—to carry on our family’s lineage and legacy, and to serve as a torchbearer of our culture to the rest of the world. That responsibility was bestowed upon me from a very young age. My grandmother always told me that I would be the next one, under my father’s watchful eye, of course.
And that’s how I got into it.
Rodger Hara: How far back does your family go in Hawai’i?
Josh Chang: In terms of hula, we go really far back. There’s me, my dad, my grandma, my Uncle Bill—and on my mom’s side, it also goes generations deep. At least five or six generations back. What we do today has been passed down over and over, through each generation.
My family, the Chang family, is comprised of many different lines of lineage and legacy. My cousins and I, those of us of this generation, are vessels for those who came before us. We do the best we can to continue those legacies and to teach our children, nieces, and nephews—the next generation.
Rodger Hara: What islands is your family on?
Josh Chang: Right now, I have family on Oʻahu, Maui, and the Big Island. As far as my immediate family, we’re from Oʻahu—both my mom’s and my dad’s sides. My mom’s side is on Maui, and my dad’s side is on Hawaiʻi Island.
Rodger Hara: How did you wind up with a gig in Longmont, of all places?
Josh Chang: I’ve been teaching hula in Boulder, Colorado for over 10 years now. I’ve been working with teachers Susie Park, Kelly, and another hula sister of mine, Jana. We’ve been collaborating together for quite a few years, having me come out to Colorado to teach workshops to the public, their studios, and hālau groups.
We haven’t put on a show since 2017. But my father passed away last year, and we thought—what better way to honor his legacy and memory than by putting on a concert? We ended up at the Vance Brand Theater in Longmont. I’m not exactly sure how that venue was chosen—that’s just where the committee decided. It’s a beautiful theater, and we’re really excited to be there.
All of this has been in the works for years now. I’m very blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to come to Colorado each year to teach and be welcomed by folks from Denver to Bloomfield… Boulder and Fort Collins—people come from all over. It’s so wonderful to see their faces every year and to be greeted with lei.
I hope people come to this show in Longmont to see what a beautiful presentation this will be—not just in honor of my dad, but also reflecting all the work we’ve been doing since 2017.
The dancers have been working extremely hard. I monitor them through Zoom, sometimes they send me recordings, and I send them notes. My feedback can be really honest—sometimes it’s “you suck,” and sometimes it’s “you did great!” That’s how much work and dedication these folks in Colorado are putting into this performance.
Even though I’m based in Los Angeles and they’re in Colorado—and we’re all far from the homeland of Hawaiʻi—I still teach with the same discipline I was raised with. The same rigor they teach in Hawaiʻi, I apply to Colorado: duck walks, constant yelling, the pain, the soreness—sometimes not being able to walk or sit down.
Those are the joys, I’d say. After it’s all done, you reflect on those moments and say, “That’s what made me the dancer I am today.” It’s those trials that give this show deep meaning. You build a sense of passion and pride, knowing that all this hard work is paying off.
Longmont is where we’ll be, and I can tell you—it’s going to be an amazing show. Not just because I’m coming, but because of the hard work and the foundation laid by the folks in Colorado.
And I’d say this show isn’t just for the memory of my father. It’s also for themselves—for Susie, for Jana, for their leaders, for the perpetuation of culture, for the love of dance. There are so many layers to this.
Longmont is going to be full of aloha by the time I land in Colorado. This show is going to be incredible. We’ll be doing things considered “vintage hula,” as well as modern hula. We’ll be performing kahiko, which is ancient hula, and ʻauana, which is contemporary hula.
It’s going to be deeply traditional—not your backyard kind of hula. We’re doing pieces so authentic that the music may be something you’ve never heard before—or, if you have, it’ll transport you to a bygone era of old Hawaiʻi.
We encourage everyone to come out and experience the love and aloha we’re bringing from California, Hawaiʻi, and Colorado.
Rodger Hara: Vance Brand Theater in Longmont—what date and time is the show?
Josh Chang: The VIP experience starts at 4:30 p.m. and goes until 5:30. That includes a 30-minute private performance and 30 minutes of meet-and-greet with myself. You’ll get signed CDs, a lei, and more.
The VIP experience includes an intimate concert with some of my bandmates, a meet-and-greet, small pūpū platters (appetizers), an autographed CD, access to unreleased music tracks, and a gift bag with assorted items from Hawaiʻi.
Doors open to the general public at 5:30, and the concert starts at 6:00 p.m. Who knows when it’ll end—we’ll be laughing on stage, but we’ll try to keep it under two hours.
Like I said, you don’t want to miss this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime show and one of the biggest hula events Colorado has ever seen.
Rodger Hara: Josh, that sounds wonderful and like a lot of fun. I look forward to attending, watching the dancers, hearing your music—and I’ll be playing a couple of tracks from your past recordings. I look forward to getting a copy of your latest CD to add to the station’s library so listeners can hear it in the future.
Josh Chang: Mahalo!
Rodger Hara: It’s been really great chatting with you, Josh. June 21st at the Vance Brand Theater in Longmont—Josh Chang and his band and the hula dancers he’s trained from Boulder and Northern Colorado. I’ll share details and directions for ordering tickets after this call.
Josh, thank you for your time. Take care and safe travels.
Josh Chang: Mahalo.
Rodger Hara: See you in a few weeks. Mahalo to you too, brother.
Josh Chang: Aloha.
