The torch of traditional Hawaiian music burns steadily, sustained by an emerging breed of Island performers whose mission is to perpetuate, share and shape the traditional sounds that defined the culture of their elders.

Among them, Kaumakaiwa "Lopaka" Kanaka'ole of Hilo and Raiatea Helm of Maui and Moloka'i, along with guests Snowbird Bento of Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua and Kaleo Trinidad of Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La, stand ready to fire up the audience in tonight's "New Traditionalists" concert at Hawai'i Theatre.

Kanaka'ole and Helm aren't unknown. He comes from a storied family of creative forces; she just picked up a Grammy Award nomination and has kinfolk who are part of Island music tradition. Both have released albums that reflect the nurturing nature of their existence.

Kanaka'ole, 23, is from the prolific and legendary Big Island 'ohana of singers, dancers, composers and chanters. His mom is the exquisite Kekuhi Kanahele, an exponent of themes Hawaiian. He is the eldest grandson of hula authority Pualani Kanaka'ole, the great-grandson of the late visionary Edith Kanaele Kanaka'ole, and the great-great grandson of family matriarch Mary Keali'ikekuewa.

"I guess it's an unspoken obligation, and for me an unspoken process, to reflect on who I am and where I come from," said Kanaka'ole. "Everything I do or say, even my performance ability, is a direct reflection of my background. There is not one day when I don't have that in the back of my mind."

Helm, 21, is the daughter of entertainer Zachary Helm and the niece of the late George Helm, the entertainer-activist who disappeared at sea in March 1977, seven years before she was born. He was struggling to put a halt to the military bombing of Kaho'olawe, advocating the island's return to the Hawaiians.

"While I was growing up, I wasn't introduced to Hawaiian music," said Helm, who considers herself a late bloomer. "My dad and his siblings were more into oldies, rather than taking the Hawaiian path, so I was exposed to 'Rockin' Robin' and 'Chain of Fools.'

"It wasn't till I was 15, when I watched the (Kamehameha) song contest and heard Nina Keali'iwahamana and wondered, 'Who is that?' I had no idea, then, who Genoa Keawe was, or Lena Machado, till I started hearing their recordings. Now, I'm very much into carrying the old-style tradition."

Kanaka'ole, speaking from his Hilo home, said his quest for expression "is the result of my own doing. I've felt that my music was an outlet for me to learn my name, who I am; I'm left to do what I want without interference.

"I mean, half the time, my parents don't know where I am on this globe; I tend to work that way with my music. I have control over my career, and I don't know if it's overconfidence — not that that's a negative — but I've never fallen off the horse, and I never doubted what I could do.

"I do know that my family, my mom, my grandma, would always be there to catch me if I fall. I have no insecurity in what I pursue."

Similarly, Helm had relatives who were playing music when she was younger, but her earlier recollections were of her dad doing hapa-haole songs at hotel gigs, along with a Hawaiian album he made.

"On Moloka'i, my dad would sing 'Alika' and hold that note, and as a kid, I always tried to compete, to hold the note, by practicing and practicing," she said from her Maui home. "I told him, 'I'm going to beat you one day,' " not knowing then that the tune would be a biggie in her repertoire.

"I'm glad my parents knew I had (musical) potential and they let me pursue it," she said. "I had to learn a lot of the stuff alone. And now, I love playing the 'ukulele."

The Kanaka'ole 'ohana lives on 10 acres of Hawaiian homestead land in Hilo. To say that Kanaka'ole was born into the Hawaiian tradition is an understatement.

"Whenever the clan got together, we'd typically pick up instruments and jam," he said. "Music was something we never went without. But in those early years, I didn't consider music as an occupation. I was going to work for a visual-arts college, because I was into painting. I still paint — just to get a change of scenery."

The turning point happened when he was 16, at a Carnegie Hall concert featuring Hawaiian music. "My mom performed, and my brother and my cousins were there, watching her. The ambience, the venue, the whole experience made her seem larger than life, and when I got back home, I started writing music again. Soon after, my grandpa died, and that made me change plans. I was supposed to go away to an arts college but decided to remain with the family."

So he enrolled at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, where he just earned his bachelor's in performing arts, specializing in Hawaiian music and dance, and expects to continue to work toward a master's in a Hawaiian studies program through UH-Manoa.

Helm still is stoked about landing a Grammy Award nomination in the Hawaiian music category. She is the lone vocalist in a field of four other CD contenders that are entirely or primarily ki ho'alu releases.

"The Grammy nomination is such a bonus. I'm so grateful for the honor," she said. "I was totally shocked to be nominated, and I think the (looming) controversy about slack-key not having a language (component) is exaggerated. To me, slack-key speaks its own language.

"So we all need to move on beyond the controversy — to quit being huhu. I'm lucky to be part of the excitement, but I never came into the music scene just to be recognized. I perform, I enjoy the music. I have fun."

Kanaka'ole views his contributions to music, as well as his family's, as works that constantly evolve. "I think it's ingrained in me that to keep it (the music) alive, it means maintaining it," he said. "Yet with enough training and with enough kuleana, anyone can maintain. Art in my family should evolve; by evolving, it contributes to growth."

He has eight or nine compositions for an album he hopes to start recording soon. "I love this creative process. I think if you forget about the four walls (of a studio) and if you're surrounded by the creative process for which a studio stands, you can really hone your skills. Your stage is where you're allowed to share."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.