BACK IN THE SADDLE: Aerosmith kicked off its “Peace Out” farewell tour at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Sept. 2. (Kazuyo Horie)
The entertainment community is rallying around Maui following devastating wildfires last month in Hawaii that killed 115 people and destroyed 2,200 structures, including cultural and historic sites.
Last weekend during the opening night of Aerosmith’s “Peace Out” farewell tour at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, frontman Steven Tyler, who owns a home in Maui, implored fans to visit the island to help bolster tourism.
Recently Dwayne Johnson and Oprah Winfrey created the “People’s Fund Maui” to provide immediate financial assistance in the form of $1,200 a month to homeowners and renters in hard-hit La Haine and Kula, where the struggle is ongoing and nearly 400 people are still missing.
Tourism drives 70% of the economy on Maui. The appeal for visitors is a reversal of Hawaii’s initial request that tourists stay away from the island, while relief efforts were underway. Per Gov. Josh Green’s sixth emergency proclamation, nonessential travel to West Maui — including Lahaina, Nāpili, Kāʻanapali, and Kapalua — is still restricted to residents and rescue workers until Oct. 17.
But group business and individual tourism to all other parts of Maui including Kahului, Wailuku, Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena, Pāʻia and Hāna and other Hawaiian Islands is open to help keep residents employed and the economy alive.
“The Hawaiian Islands are open for business,” said John Reyes, SVP and chief MCI sales officer for Meet Hawai’i.
The live entertainment industry has been asked to support the Hawaiian Islands in the wake of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in a century.
Other high-profile relief efforts include artist Jack Johnson, who was born in Oahu and still calls the Hawaiian island home. He announced a live benefit album and an intimate benefit concert with all proceeds benefiting Maui fire relief efforts.
Songs For Maui is due out digitally Sept. 15 via Brushfire and Republic Records. The album, which features Hawaii’s own Paula Fuga and John Cruz, was recorded at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center’s Castle Theater during Johnson’s 2012 Hawaiian Islands tour.
“All our love is going to our friends and family on Maui right now. As we began to brainstorm ways we could support the community, we found tracks from an acoustic show from 2012 that Paula, John and I played at the MACC on Maui. While listening to the songs we thought back to the time we spent that spring, both on stage but also bonding with our Maui ‘ohana. We know it will be a long road ahead. We hope the positive energy from this show can carry on to help raise funds and support families in need. Aloha, Jack.”
Johnson and his band take the stage at The Republik in Honolulu on Sept. 18 for a special benefit concert featuring special guests Fuga and Cruz.
Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 8th at 10 a.m. HST via See Tickets, with a strict four-ticket limit per order. To curb scalping, tickets will be digitally delivered 48 before the show and ticket transferability will be limited to face value resale at $125 per ticket.
When purchasing tickets, as well as at the show, fans will have the chance to give additional donations directly to Maui fire relief efforts.
An announcement about the benefit from Republic Records notes that “Jack and his wife Kim, together with the Johnson Ohana Foundation, made donations to the following organizations to provide immediate disaster relief and food to impacted families: Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund, Maui United Way, Common Ground Collective, Maui Food Bank, Chef Hui, and Maui Hub. Further funds raised from the benefit album and show will be distributed with guidance from Maui’s community to best support recovery and their evolving needs.”
