Daniel Pak

Love and aloha are the main ingredients singer-songwriter Daniel Pak stirs into his songs of freedom that stem from an upbringing on reggae and Hawaiian music. Born and raised on O`ahu, Pak brings the warmth and soul of the islands into his music of healing and joy.

“Reggae and Hawaiian music have always been at the core of my identity – the uplifting beat of the one drop coupled with a message of resistance against oppression, mixed in with island melodies and lyrics that connected us to the land and the people who came before us – that’s what I love and what makes me whole.”

In nearly ten years as frontman of Kore Ionz, Pak has shared the stage with The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Steel Pulse, Sly & Robbie, and many more of reggae’s founding fathers. “Love You Better,” his “poignant love letter,” as The International Examiner calls it, went to #1 on commercial radio in Hawai`i.

When he’s not on stage with his band, Pak spends his time advocating for the voices of young artists in his community. As co-founder of Totem Star, a nonprofit record label serving a diverse roster of young recording artists, a big part of his life’s work is to ensure that young people have a safe, encouraging, and inclusive space to create music, learn life skills, and build community.

Pak also serves on the Seattle Music Commission as Chair of the Youth + Community Committee, as a Trustee for The Bush School, and formerly as a Governor for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of The Recording Academy (Grammys).