After a two-year break, the once-annual Jammin' Hawaiians concert is making a comeback Saturday, and the downtime has only served to make it an even bigger Island music blowout. With more than 17 local bands and singers and one super hot guest performer on the bill, it's as if the party never stopped.

Duane Oyama, whose promotion company, Mass Appeal, is responsible for the massive gathering of Island talent, attributes his success in making the show happen to an upsurge in the popularity of local music.

"It goes in cycles," said Oyama of the public's love for local pop music. "Local music was really hot in the early '90s. Then it cooled off for a few years and now it's hot again. It's like I had to wait for a generation to flip over."

From the looks of it, the wait was well worth it.

Oyama, who also is the man behind the popular Bambucha and Winter Bash concerts, expects 8,000 people to attend Saturday's show. Five days before the concert, he had sold more than 6,000 tickets and said sales were still brisk.

The concert happens Saturday at the Waikiki Shell. Singer Fiji and guest reggae artist Luckie D, whose current single, "I'm Missing You Like Crazy," is a radio hit here, are the headliners for a long lineup of local talent that includes Beach 5, Ekolu, Justice Moon, O-shen and Kawao.

"I choose the bands based on who's hot right now; who's getting the most airplay on local radio," Oyama said.

Along with the rejuvenated, super-sized Jammin' Hawaiians event — more music, bigger crowds — Oyama expanded his vision this time around to include more than just a good time. He added good will to the mix.

The show, which is Oyama's 11th Jammin' Hawaiians concert, is, for the first time, also acting as a fundraiser, with a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales going to support Musical Youth of Hawaii.

"I realized this year that I really wanted to invest in the future of Hawai'i's music, which is the youth. Musical Youth of Hawaii is a good fit for us," Oyama said.

James Coles, the founder of Musical Youth of Hawaii, an after-school program that teaches teenagers the ins and outs of deejaying, said he knew that approaching Oyama was the perfect way to start a mutually beneficial collaboration. Oyama and Coles are old industry friends, and the partnership formed quickly and easily.

"I went to Duane and asked if we could be part of the Jammin' Hawaiians show. I wanted the kids to have a chance to test their deejaying skills in that kind of a setting," said Coles, who, aside from being a music mentor to a few hundred kids every year, also works for Cox radio as a radio deejay and imaging specialist. "We reached an agreement. I would invest in the concert and he would make it a fundraiser for us."

This year's event, in addition to being bigger than it was in years past, will also include DJ sets by the up-and-coming turntablists of Musical Youth of Hawaii.