REviews
Ganzer Wedding
February 17, 2018
I whole-heartedly wish that reviews could be AT LEAST 3 full pages long. I can’t say enough about how lucky we were to have Miki come and play for us. He is the COMPLETE package. His rate is reasonable and well worth it. He is LOVELY. Everyone’s energy around a wedding can be a bit- busy to put it nicely. Miki has the most calm and gentle energy! It was a balm on the day. I just happened to find him on Craig’s list. I am completely thrilled that I found him. We were looking for a musician for a family wedding in the Kona area. We needed someone to come for a wake-up, morning serenade and then to play for the wedding ceremony in the afternoon.
Miki drove from the other side of the island to start playing at 8am. And then he graciously waited a few hours until the wedding took place. He helped fine-tune the timing for the morning private concert. He recommended not starting until 8am because that was the time the sun would be coming up over the mountain. It was a detail we hadn’t considered. He said that would be a pretty time in the morning. He was absolutely right. He tailored the morning music to fit our little group which included the bride’s and groom’s 7 month old son. He started with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The baby recognized the song and really enjoyed it and showed interest in Miki’s ukulele. Miki kindly allowed the baby to feel the ukulele when he reached for it.
Miki Yardley is a WONDERFUL musician. He brought both his ukulele and guitar for both performances. With very little direction on our part he chose just the right songs for both the concert and the wedding. His voice is BEAUTIFUL. During the morning concert he wove funny and enlightening commentary between songs. It was easy, relaxed, terrifically memory-making and thoroughly enjoyable. He shared a mixture of traditional Hawaiian songs, easily-recognized Hawaii-themed songs and related contemporary songs. He shared that he regularly plays at different venues around the island, so I know that anytime we have a chance to come back to the big island, we will make sure to find out where Miki is playing. I have his website memorized: mikiala.rocks. Please, please, please consider him if you ever need a musician.
-Wendy
House Party
August, 2016
My family and I vacationed on The Big Island in August 2016. In June, I decided to hire a musician to play for a few hours in a celebration of my son and husband's birthdays. I contacted and interviewed several musicians on both sides of The Big Island. Most were slow to respond (if at all). In fact, I actually hired another gentleman to play but because of his lack of response, I was not comfortable with him in the end.
When I contacted Mikiala, he responded to my emails and phone calls promptly. He was very professional. He had a long list of songs in his repertoire and had samples of his music on his website. All of which made hiring him an easy decision.
Mr. Yardley contacted me (not the other way around) a day or two prior to the event which put me at ease. He arrived on time, with all of his gear. He immediately set up his equipment with very little direction. It was very apparent that this was not his first rodeo. He played for about four hours or so. It was AMAZING! Mikiala gave us a little history of the Hawaiian songs prior to singing, which made us appreciate the music all the more. Everyone was so pleased, I thought they were going to rush him for an autograph. Needless to say, we all talked about it for days after the celebration. We could not have made a better choice!
Haru Lindsey
Carlsbad, CA
Birthday Party
November, 2017
Mikiala Yardley just finished a gig at my mom's 90th birthday with close to 100 people counting kids. He was considerate, talented and a true Hawaiian. He is flexible with a wide repertoire and completely personable ready to accompany last minute singers. Hire him. It'll be a great investment.
Esther Oliver-Nakashima
Loma Linda, CA