Page 15 - MidWeek - Feb 9, 2022

Hawai‘i’s very own boy band, Crossing Rain, kicks off its West Coast tour — “Nice To Meet You!” — at Blaisdell Concert Hall this month.
(Front, from left) Shotaro Takasawa, Evan “Haru” Doria, (back) Devin Teruya, Wyatt “Monarch” Kaneshiro, Asher Morgado and Jorden “J” Kealoha-Yamanaka.
It’s been less than a year since Crossing Rain made its debut, and already the Hawai‘i-based boy band is making waves across the islands.
Wyatt “Monarch” Kaneshiro, Jorden “J” Kealo- ha-Yamanaka, Evan “Haru” Doria, Devin Teruya, Asher Morgado and Shotaro Takasawa performed to a packed house in November during their debut con- cert, and they show no signs of slowing down. Since first meeting each other in March 2021, they have been practicing and rehearsing, eventually releasing their first full-length album, DREAMS, in December. It was a lot of hard work and long hours, but well- worth the effort as evidenced by the large following they’ve already garnered.
perform at the Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall because it’s one of the most iconic venues in Hawai‘i, seeing as so many legendary artists have per- formed there,” they share. “We can’t wait to perform for our fans!”
as a K-pop-esque group. “We don’t like to label what genre we do because we don’t want to box our- selves in. We explore many styles and want to always be evolving as artists and per-
to something great. “Through our journey, we
“She raised us (me and my siblings) on shows like So You Think You Can Dance,” he recalls.
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Due to COVID, Crossing Rain hasn’t been able to meet with fans as much as they’d like, which is why the guys are excited to take advantage of any opportunity to interact with the people who have shown them so much support over the last year. Known affection- ately as “XR,” the group will take to the stage once again Feb. 26 at Blaisdell Concert Hall to kick off its West Coast “Nice To Meet You!”
While some compare this up-and-coming troupe to Korean pop groups, they’ re anything but. The six mem- bers (ranging in age from 13 to 21 years old) perform in styles from pop and ballads to a little bit of rock, hip-hop and rap. So, there’s some dis- sonance to classifying them
formers,” the group says. Kaneshiro, Kealoha-Ya- manaka, Doria, Teruya, Morgado and Takasawa are natural-born perform- ers, and all share a love of music and dance that was instilled into them at young ages. They have proven that grit and determination, cou- pled with passion, can lead
want to motivate others to work hard and be positive,” they say. “We want our fans to know that there is some- thing unique and amazing about all of us. We are all blessed with amazing gifts, and we want to inspire and encourage our fans to follow their dreams.”
For lead vocalist Kealo- ha-Yamanaka, a lot of inspi- ration comes from his family (his dad is award-winning lo- cal musician Mark Yamana- ka), but he notes that The KingofPophadalottodo with it, too.
tour.
excited to
Group leader Kaneshiro — the expert in hip-hop and rap — produced and wrote music in high school, and got intro- duced to dance thanks to his mom (a ballerina).
“Michael Jackson inspired me to pursue music and dance as a passion,” he says.
“We’re also
Doria’s experience, mean-
SEE PAGE 18
BY NICOLE MONTON
PHOTO BY LAWRENCE TABUDLO