A new law will increase the cost to book the Royal Hawaiian Band for private functions.
Bill 45 was passed by the Honolulu City Council last month and signed into law by Mayor Rick Blangiardi.
The band had previously charged private events $1,200 for the first hour and $150 for every 15 minutes after that. The new law changes that to $2,500 for the first hour and $250 for every 15 minutes after that.
The measure also raises fees for vessel arrivals and departures, as well as for television, radio, movie and other recordings.
Longtime bandmaster Clarke Bright said their private event fees haven’t changed since the 1990s. The measure helps to make those fees more fair and equitable, he said.
Bright added that many private events, including conventions, pay much more, sometimes at least double what the band had charged for similar performances.
“The raising of the fees is just more of a respectable and similar amount charged to anybody else that would be professionally requested to perform in private or for-profit type events,” he said. “The money that comes in goes straight to the general fund, to the city. It’s just an understanding that this is what I think the band should be compensated at.”
Bright said the new law will not affect the Royal Hawaiian Band’s public performances, which will remain free.
The Royal Hawaiian Band, established in 1836 by King Kamehameha III, is considered the only full-time municipal band in the country, often performing at public concerts, parades, community centers and schools.
