LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Country musician Paul West spent eight years on Maui before he became one of many displaced in the wildfires last summer, and he moved to Las Vegas.
He recently returned to the island for a fundraiser, performing for the locals once again and seeing the remains of the popular Fleetwood’s restaurant, where he used to play.
“I played music pretty much full time at Mick Fleetwood’s restaurant. He had a restaurant right in the heart of Lahaina, and I was there four or five days a week, living the dream with my family,” said West.
Until the wildfires last summer destroyed the home his family had leased and took their jobs.
They were forced to relocate and chose the Ninth Island.
“I have to admit, it’s been a little hard to write a song and not be a little angry,” said West. “I did release one, which is a bit of a metaphor. It sounds like a breakup with a girl, but it’s really my sort of breakup with Maui.”
The lyrics say, “The worst part of me is everything I see reminds me of the beauty in you.”
“It seems to be about a breakup with a woman, but it’s really a breakup with Maui,” West explained.
West recently went back to Maui to perform in a music festival, raising money for wildfire recovery.
“We were driving in the bus on the way to the show, and we passed through the heart of Lahaina,” he said. “Normally, there were a whole bunch of buildings there that would block the view. But instead, because all the buildings were gone, you could see the shell of the Fleetwood’s building that was just kind of standing alone, isolated out there. So that was a moment. I got a little emotional about that, for sure.”
As for recovery efforts on the island, West says the progress is a lot slower than many people think.
“I can obviously tell that they’re still suffering. The west side of Maui is not okay,” he said. “I think everyone still needs financial assistance. They need food assistance. They need housing assistance. They likely need mental health help as well.”
West says since moving to Las Vegas after the fires, he’s been amazed to see all the support for Maui coming from the Ninth Island. Check out his website or upcoming shows in Las Vegas.
That fundraiser Paul performed at in early September was the Maui Music + Food Experience.
It was a three-day celebration, bringing together the best chefs and musicians on Maui and raising money for food, housing, and mental health resources for people impacted by the fires.
The fundraiser was organized by the Hua Momona Foundation, which also launched a food outreach operation after the fires, cooking hot meals for displaced residents.
“We were, right off the bat, feeding about 5,000 people a week on the west side, right after the fires. Within a week, we were up and operational. And to this day, we’re still delivering about 1,000 free hot meals to people on the west side, in the Lahaina area,” said Gary Grube with the Hua Momona Foundation.
Grube said the Maui Music + Food Experience raised about $250,000, going directly toward food, housing, and mental health assistance on the island.
For more about the Hua Momona Foundation and to donate to recovery efforts on the island, click here.
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