Local singer Loretta Ables Sayre said second-hand smoke has made performing difficult for her. A concert is planned by Island entertainers who advocate for laws that protect the quality of indoor air in which they perform. Courtesy of Laura Aguon

"Our timing is no coincidence," said Jean Evans, executive director of the American Lung Assn. Hawai'i, which supports the law that prohibits smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places. There is a challenge to roll back the prevailing law.

Entertainer Cathy Foy-Mahi, who is chairing the awareness songfest, themed "Breathe Concert — Clean Air for Everyone," said, "I sing for a living and can't tolerate smoking where I earn my livelihood."

Loretta Ables Sayre, an Island singer bound for Broadway where she will star as Bloody Mary in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of "South Pacific," said, "I am asthmatic and suffered for years signing in public while surrounded by smokers."

The problem was at its worst when cigar smokers affected her ability to perform. "I absolutely could not breathe and my doctors said I was in serious risk of losing my voice altogether because of the second-hand smoke."

The concert will be preceded by the release of a song entitled "Breathe," composed by Island tunesmith Johnson Enos. The tune includes a Hawaiian verse by Kenneth Makuakane, who arranged the music, with Aaron J. Sala providing the vocal arrangement.

The concert will assemble a diverse roster of performers: