Celebrity News August 17, 2023
Mick Fleetwood on When Relief Concert for Maui Could Happen (Exclusive)
Legendary rocker Mick Fleetwood is shocked, shaken, and feeling lucky to be alive!
"Extra's" Billy Bush spoke with the Fleetwood Mac co-founder and longtime Maui resident about his mission to help survivors of the worst natural disaster to ever hit Hawaii, the wildfire that killed more people than any other U.S. fire in over 100 years.
Mick commented, "It's all about right now absorbing a huge, huge human tragedy... We're all in shock, but also knowing the first moment that you look for is to help."
The Mick Fleetwood Foundation is now directing funds to organizations working on the ground, including the Maui Food Bank, the Hawaii Community Foundation, and the Maui Humane Society.
Mick noted, "The immediate need is literally taking care of people that are surviving, which would be food, water, something on their back, and somewhere to sleep. That is being taken care of."
Could there be a relief concert in the works?
Mick answered, "Certainly a vision in my funny head. That needs to be something we know we can do. Not in the immediate moment, but not too long from now."
With more than a hundred perished so far and more than 1,000 residents still missing, President Biden is set to come to Maui next week to tour this paradise lost and the historic town of Lahaina that's been burned to the ground, including Mick's restaurant Fleetwood’s on Front Street.
Mick shared, "My house survived. My restaurant got burned in Lahaina. Then you go, ‘But what happened to all the people in the restaurant and the town?’"
Fortunately, Mick hasn't lost anyone close.
He noted, "Many people I know have lost their homes and 120 people work in Lahaina at what was Fleetwood's on Front Street… They are all safe."
Mick expressed his love for Maui, saying, "This is my home. It's my only home. Going on over 25 years... So this is truly home. My only home."
As for what drew him to Maui, Mick explained, "The feeling of being here is what we call 'ohana,' which is another way of saying ‘family.’ I always felt that. In the early ‘70s, when I first came here, I just felt at home."
Fleetwood stressed, "A historical town has been completely destroyed. It used to be, in the 1800s, the royal capiaol of the islands — and it’s gone. And right now, it's about getting what we need to get to preserve people's well-being and consolidate and still looking for people who are missing."
Despite the overwhelming tragedy Maui is facing, Mick believes the island "will prevail."