You're the band leader, and the booker, so you call the shots. But you did the right thing.

The band is a trio--if you don't have a trio, you don't have your band. The organizers said they'd take your solo stuff in place of the band, which stiffed them. That was pretty decent, if I'd been promised a band and I got a solo act instead, I might be a bit upset.

If your singer/whistle player has a problem, it is with the melodeon player who backed out on a committment. You also have a right to be angry at the melodeon player, because you booked the job, and he stiffed you, leaving you in hanging in the lurch.

The only thing is that the folks in the band might not see it that way. Over the years, I've led a number of bands, and, like you, ended up writing and arranging, doing the bookings, and all the heavy lifting. I always divide the proceeds equally, and even at that, I've had people who felt they deserved more--

My thought is that the melodeon player probably told the singer she deserved to play and get half in order to distract you from the fact that he made a committment, and then backed out.

I'd have found someone to fill in for the melodeon player so that you could play the job. Now that it's over, I'd still think finding a replacement, because not only can't you rely on him to make the gigs, he still wants to tell you how to divide the money--