DCR News Release – American Idol Finalist Thunderstorm Artis Performs At Hālawa Correctional Facility

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

     JOSH GREEN, M.D.

     GOVERNOR

     KE KIAʻĀINA

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION

     KA ‘OIHANA HOʻOMALU KALAIMA A HOʻOPONOPONO OLA

 

     TOMMY JOHNSON

     DIRECTOR

     KA LUNA HO‘OKELE

 

AMERICAN IDOL FINALIST THUNDERSTORM ARTIS PERFORMS AT HĀLAWA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 30, 2025

HONOLULU — “American Idol” 2025 finalist Thunderstorm Artis gifted inmates with a free concert at the Hālawa Correctional Facility Monday, June 30, 2025.

“I think music is such a healing thing and for me the message I try to bring to my music is so important. To share this with these guys, it’s an honor for me,” Artis said.

 

“Sometimes we enter dark seasons and we make a lot of bad decisions. So I just want to let these guys know that there are better days ahead,” he added.

 

Artis, 29, had placed in the Top 5 of American Idol. He was also a finalist in Season 18 of “The Voice.”

At the Hālawa Correctional Facility, Artis performed two sets Monday, one for approximately 80 inmates and the other for approximately 90 inmates at the facility gym.

 

Pastor Alan Leigh — pastor emeritus at the Calvary Chapel Wahiawā who conducts Bible study, pastoral counseling and chapel classes at HCF — has known Artis for more than a decade when Artis assisted the youth pastor at the North Shore Christian Fellowship and Calvary Church.

 

Leigh recalled Artis previously accompanying him to the facility in 2017 to perform for residents in custody. “His music does touch people’s souls,” he said.

 

When Leigh heard that Artis was returning to Hawai‘i to visit, Leigh asked Artis if he was available to perform at HCF. Without hesitation, Artis said yes. Originally scheduled to fly back to the mainland Sunday night, Artis rescheduled his flight to Monday night, June 30, 2025, so he could perform for inmates at the facility.

 

Artis said, “Years before I was even on American Idol or The Voice, I used to come through to Hālawa Heights and sing worship with Pastor Al, so when he heard I was coming back to town, he’s like ‘dude, would you love to come back here and play for the gentlemen here?’ And I was like dude, I would be honored to,” Artis said.

 

Leigh said, “What a blessing it was for the whole facility.”

 

Director Tommy Johnson of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation expressed his gratitude to Artis, Pastor Leigh and the Hālawa Correctional Facility. “We are truly grateful to HCF, Artis and our community partners,” Johnson said.

 

HCF Warden Shannon Cluney said the inmates were appreciative of the concert. “We’re always excited to have opportunities like this come to the facility,” Cluney said.

 

Born and raised in a musical family on the North Shore of Oʻahu, the singer-songwriter is the son of the late Ron Artis, a musician and artist who painted hundreds of murals on the island.

 

“Hawaiʻi is just very close to my heart so every time I can come back and spend time here, it’s always like it’s not enough time. But I’m looking forward to coming back and hanging out here,” Artis said.

 

Artis currently lives in Nashville, Tenn. and is preparing to go on tour with the group, The War and Treaty.

 

Footage and photos of the concert is available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CIopNnsfT1N26Fnzs3p-SiwKLVzw9kMd?usp=sharing/

 

The images are courtesy of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

 

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Media Contact:

Rosemarie Bernardo

Public Information Officer

Hawai‘i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Office: 808-587-1358

Cell: 808-683-5507

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://dcr.hawaii.gov