Mick Fleetwood is ready to lend a helping hand to those affected by the recent wildfires that devastated areas of Maui. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier, the drummer and co-founding member of Fleetwood Mac says he is in the midst of organizing a benefit concert for Hawaiians in need.
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“I’ve already got a lovely sort of catalog of people that are concerned. I will remain mute on who they are, but I will either become part of something that we can do on a grand scale, which is great,” says Fleetwood. “Anything is great, and playing in Honolulu, about two weeks from now, and that concert’s becoming — Henry Kapono, who lives in Oahu, was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his career — well, I’m going to be doing that show, supporting.
“So, all of this is unfolding is something I feel I can be a part, or really be spearheading,” he adds. “And it’s not now, but music heals, and music does its version of what I’m doing now.”
His decision to help lead efforts to launch a fundraising event for fire victims is personal. Fleetwood’s own restaurant and bar was one of the hundreds of structures destroyed across the coastal town of Lahaina. According to CBS News, 112 people have been confirmed dead from the blaze, and over 1,000 more have been reported missing and are currently unaccounted for.
Although details about the concert are still scarce, Fleetwood notes that his “intention would be absolutely to be part of, or to be right shaking the flag, to rally around and put on a great incredibly beautiful show. Which I know can be done.”
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Last week, Fleetwood Mac bandmate Stevie Nicks shared a powerful message about her close connection to the region on her social media pages. Nicks has owned a home on the island of Maui since the 1980s, just 20 minutes away from Lahaina. The 75-year-old rock legend had family members vacationing at her property when the fires began.
Although her relatives were unharmed by the wildfire, Nicks says she was shaken by the devastation that spread across Maui, a place with a special connection for her and her bandmates.
“This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families,” she writes. “Mick [Fleetwood] and I came here in 1978, went up to Kula to look at a huge, beautiful house and stood in front of it listening to the gentle magical wind. He said to me, ‘I will live and die on this island.’ I knew he was telling the truth. John [McVie] also lived here in Maui for a long time – Christine [McVie] never lived here but visited many times.”
(Photo Credit Amanda Demme / Courtesy of Shore Fire Media)
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