On a Sunday evening in July, musician Keoni Ku sang “I Kona” in a beautiful falsetto at 100 Sails Restaurant &Bar in Waikiki.

Performed by request, the song inspired a spontaneous hula by a customer — who danced an appropriate distance away from the musician. With tables spaced out in the restaurant’s dining room, families and groups of friends dined in the relaxed atmosphere overlooking the Ala Wai Harbor.

It was a scene that not too long ago Ku could only hope he would be performing in again.

“Before COVID I was working about six days a week in Waikiki, and as soon as COVID hit I lost everything,” said Ku, a Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning recording artist, after his performance. “I wasn’t working at all. Just collecting the PUA.” Pandemic Unemployment Assistance was designated for individuals who did not qualify for regular unemployment compensation.

Ku was out of work for almost a year.

Few professionals have been hit harder in Hawaii by the COVID-19 pandemic than the musicians who perform in island restaurants, nightclubs and showrooms. The shutdowns made necessary by the pandemic put them out of work, and now, mandated restrictions on occupancy and group size in the spaces where they perform can make it difficult for venues that presented entertainment pre-pandemic to bring them back to work.

From the entertainers’ perspective, returning to work can put them in harm’s way even if they’re performing behind plexiglass or sitting at the back of the stage instead of up front as usual.

The on-again, off-again nature of the reboots that gradually got things restarted have kept many of them scrambling.

Now, as the COVID-19 infection rates remain high in Hawaii, the scene continues to be in flux. The soon-to-be implemented Safe Access Oahu program, which goes into effect for 60 days beginning Sept. 13, will require customers at restaurants and other businesses to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the prior 48 hours.

At 100 Sails, Ku performs in a corner in the front of the restaurant across the bar. Customers have their temperatures checked on entry and are required to wear masks when they’re not at their tables. The corner is isolated; there are no tables in the immediate vicinity. A plexiglass wall can be folded out to separate him from the audience if necessary.

“In March of this year it started picking up,” Ku said about his performance calendar. “I started getting a little bit of work, and (the jobs) just started overflowing.”

His schedule takes him to a variety of venues, so he has made sure his repertoire of songs isn’t limited to hula and Hawaiian standards.

“I try to cater to everybody,” he said, which was reflected in his set list that included Top 40 standards, country, Hawaiian (“my first genre”), hapa haole favorites, an imaginative medley of “Through the Fire” and “I Want It That Way,” and local pop hits such as “Never, Never, Never” and “Blue Darling”/“I’ll Be Leaving.”

THE PANDEMIC brought similar challenges to singer/songwriter Melaniie, who was in her seventh year as a professional entertainer when Waikiki shut down.

“It was March of 2020 when they shut down. The Hideout (at The ­Laylow hotel) really pushed for ­(outdoor) live music, and I think it was in July of that year that they were able to do music. From March to July, I wasn’t working so I was very grateful for PUA assistance,” she said recently during a phone call from Lanai, where she and her manager, recording artist Jenn “JRoQ” Wright, were playing at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

“I’ve played places that have plexi walls, but it’s very rare,” Wright added. She and Melaniie both take jobs with other performers, so their experiences have been different. “We haven’t taken up all those gigs (that are offered). It’s nice to be able to perform and follow the rules.”

For Melaniie, there is one rule: She only performs outside.

“I was a little scared to play indoor places, so I turned away indoor gigs and stuck with my outdoor places — The Hideout on Tuesdays, and Friday I am at the Prince Waikiki Hinana Bar.”

The behavior she’s seen, even performing outdoors, grates on her.

“We’re vaccinated, but we know that doesn’t mean that you can’t possibly get it. It’s crazy. It’s like everything opened up — ‘Yay! It’s open. Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo!’ — and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? There’s still a pandemic out there,’ ” she said. “I’m glad they have faith in the world, but people have to think a little more before they do stuff.”

Performing poolside at the Hinana Bar recently, Melaniie and guitarist John Manion had more than 6 feet of space between them and the closest tables. Most of the people who walked past were wearing masks. A few were not.

The duo used electronic gear to expand the sound of Manion’s guitar as Melaniie sang the recent hits of some of her favorite artists, Ariana Grande, Lizzo and Adele. She also slipped in a couple of pop classics,“Misty Blue” and “Killing Me Softly,” did a mash-up of Gregory Isaacs songs and demonstrated her skill as a song stylist with “Man in the Mirror.”

She says that her pandemic-enforced time off wasn’t wasted.

“It gave me time to think about what I want to do with my career. So I have been writing songs and working on my own music, so I have something to release next year. The goal is an album. It could be an EP, but I want to have my singles ready — we’re putting that out in the universe.”

WAIKIKI ENTERTAINER John Valentine sees things long-term. Valentine has been working in Waikiki since the 1980s, including extensive runs as a member of Night Splendour and the Love Notes. He was part of the latter group’s heyday as a show band. He is also a Na Hoku Hanohano Award recipient, and one of the local pioneers of the “one-man band” format — where the musician incorporates prerecorded music or music loops into their performance.

Valentine returned to Waikiki in November.

“I became full time in January already,” he said, calling in before going to a gig at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. “A lot of people are still struggling — like drummers and bass players — but I’m a soloist, so I can pretty much gig anywhere. I’m booked out and fortunate to say that I’m turning down gigs now, cause I can’t do everything.”

Valentine last saw plexiglass barriers in early July.

“Waikiki gigs are actually safer than the local clubs because all the tourists got tested,” he said, although the Safe Access Oahu program will require patrons to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter restaurants and other venues.

Elsewhere around town, Honolulu’s LGBTQ bars and nightclubs have required proof of vaccination since July.