The Allright Family Band is celebrating 50 years of music with a concert — and special guests — at the Neil S. Blaisdell Concert Hall on Friday, Nov. 14. The band was started in the late ’70s by Buck Rodgers. The one-night-only show has about 2,000 seats, said Marilyn Rodgers, who is Buck’s wife and the manager of the band, as well as one of its members.
“We want to fill the house,” she said.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. and includes entertainers from Hawaiʻi, Canada and Las Vegas. In addition to performances from the Allright Family Band, there will be ones by Ala Moana Boyz, Vynilyn, Natural Vibrations, Black Lysted, Jai & The Tones, Simplisity, Bet, Damon Williams & The Hawaiian Style Band and Kumu Catalina, according to the event’s flyer. Get tickets.
The Allright Family Band originally included the husband-and-wife duo Buck and Marilyn Rodgers, as well as their daughter and three sons. Buck, now 85, and Marilyn, now 74, are based in Makaha.
“He kept on saying he wanted to do a big show to commemorate 50 years of the Allright Family Band,” she said. “And it just went from there.”
At the upcoming concert, their son Daniel, who lives on Maui and is now a father and the owner of the company Wellness Haven Massage, will perform a few songs he wrote, including one called “No More Pain,” she said. Their son, Jai, who lives in Waikīkī, is also a father now and will perform with his band, Jai & The Tones.
The boys had been part of several bands over the years. In middle school they were known as Buckz Boyz, she said. In high school, they took the name Breath of Fire because “it had to be kind of risqué, right?” she said with a laugh. Then, they became the Jai & Dan Duo. Today, Jai continues to play in Waikīkī, including at Duke’s Waikīkī and the Tapa Bar at Hilton Hawaiian Village, among other spots.
The Allright Family Band previously recorded the album “Music is Love Maui” in 1987, which featured a young Henry Kapono as well as Peter Hernandez, Bruno Mars’ father, among others, she said. Recently, Amal Wijayanyake, the owner of Amalien Records, heard about the Allright Family Band and remastered its song “Music is Love,” which is set to release next week, along with one of Jai’s songs, “Simmer Down.”
“Just buy a ticket and come see the Allright Family Band and all the friends in a beautiful, beautiful facility, the Blaisdell Concert Hall,” she said.
For more information, check out the website of the Neil S. Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
