Mayor Blangiardi proclaims Monday ‘Bronson Varde Day’ in Honolulu

The city has proclaimed Monday “Bronson Varde Day” in anticipation of the former city worker’s performance on NBC’s “American Song Contest.”

Varde is representing Hawaii in the nationally televised live broadcast on NBC, where musicians from all 50 states, five U.S. territories and Washington D.C. battle for the title of Best Original Song.

“We’ve very proud of you,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who presented the proclamation to Varde during a ceremony, which was attended by Honolulu City Councilmember Augie Tulba, and members of the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation.

Varde began his career with the city as an aide in the children’s Summer Fun Program, quickly progressing to a full-time Recreation Director position at Maili and Herbert K. Pilila’au Community Parks.

Blangiardi said in the proclamation, “Bronson Varde is a true keiki o ka ‘aina from Ewa Beach, who grew up listening to Hawaiian and island reggae music, crafted his own style based on his island roots, and gave back to his community as a civil servant in the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Bronson continues to improve his musical talent and performance presence through hard work and perseverance and will ultimately share his singer/songwriter skills with the world on a national stage and beyond.”

Varde has gained a local following with original music released under the band name No Pressure.

He is scheduled to perform on the American Song Contest’s fourth qualifier show airing on NBC on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern. The show, hosted by rap artist Snoop Dogg and Grammy Award-winning, original American Idol Kelly Clarkson, will be rebroadcast on a delayed basis that evening in Hawaii.

Voting will be open for three days following the performance. Voting closes at 1 a.m. Hawaii time on Wednesday. Voters may vote for their favorite performer on nbc.com/ascvote, using the NBC smartphone application, on Tik Tok — or all three.