Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who’ve lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires came together for FireAid, a massive benefit concert Thursday that combined spectacular performances with moving storytelling from survivors and reminders of the destruction.
In a night full of surprises, a reunion of Nirvana — fronted by St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett in the place of the late Kurt Cobain — tops the list. They launched into “Breed,” “School” and “Territorial Pissings” respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl’s daughter, Violet, then emerged on stage for “All Apologies.”
Closer Lady Gaga, after powering through the Oscar-award winning “Shallow” and “Always Remember Us This Way” from “A Star Is Born,” played a new song on the piano. “It’s just for tonight, it’s just for you,” she said of the song she wrote with fiancé businessman Michael Polansky. “Time is a healer.”
“All I need is time,” she sang in the folk-y pop chorus. “To heal my broken wings and then I’ll soar.”
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into “Last Night on Earth” at the Kia Forum and were soon joined by Billie Eilish for the first surprise of the night. The lyrics are surprisingly astute: “If I lose everything in the fire / I’m sending all my love to you.”
After their set, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong hugged actor Billy Crystal, who was there to welcome to the crowd at the Kia Forum.
“Our goal is simple tonight, to spend more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents,” he joked. He told the audience U2 offered the first big donation of the night: $1 million dollars.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that he lived in for 46 years.
SoCal in the building
Is there any band more Southern California in spirit and geography than the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Bassist Flea did a handstand on stage wearing only a Speedo before they launched into one of their countless odes to the state: “Dani California,” “Californication” and “Under the Bridge.”
The first true-blue Los Angeles moment came from a surprise performance by Dr. Dre. The progenitor of West Coast hip-hop tackled “Still D.R.E.” with Anderson .Paak and Sheila E. before pivoting to Tupac and Dre’s classic “California Love.”
It was followed by the figurehead of Laurel Canyon folk, a moving set of “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell.
Later in the night, the recently reunited, Orange Country ska punk legends No Doubt launched into “I’m Just a Girl,” “Don’t Speak” and “Spiderwebs,” led by frontwoman Gwen Stefani.
Katy Perry was joined by the Pasadena Chorale for “Rise” before launching into “Roar” and “California Gurls.” She paraded across the stage with the California state flag in hand.
And Eilish and her brother Finneas, who’ve called Los Angeles home for their entire lives, performed beautiful acoustic versions of her recent hits “Wildflower,” “The Greatest” and “Birds of a Feather.”
Two venues, one huge concert
FireAid spread its performances between two venues, the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, providing a near seamless stream of music for nearly six hours. Behind early performances, images of firefighters and the devastation brought forth by the fires appeared on screen.
Olivia Rodrigo, Stevie Wonder, Sting and Pink provided memorable sets.
Stevie Nicks did “Edge of Seventeen,” “Stand Back” and “Landslide,” and told the story of evacuating her Pacific Palisades home that miraculously did not burn down. Her home is mostly wood, built in 1938, and she theorized its loss would have destroyed the whole street.
Earth, Wind & Fire did a medley of their biggest hits: “That’s the Way of the World,” “Shining Star” and “September.” The Black Crowes backed up John Fogerty for “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” Then the band was joined by Slash.
Lil Baby offered a rare hip-hop break in the night of mostly pop and rock, with his hits “So Sorry” and “Emotionally Scarred.”
Tate McRae performed her 2020 cut “You Broke Me First” and a cover of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” Jelly Roll brought country music to the event, performing his hit “I Am Not Okay” and a cover of Bob Seger’s “Hollywood Nights” with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
Music mixed with stories of fire’s toll
Between sets, survivors telling stories of losing their homes were broadcast throughout the arena, both in person and in video packages.
Non-celebrities brought heart. The Williams family, including four daughters and their mother, took the stage and discussed losing four homes in Altadena, California. They introduced the folk rock band Dawes, whose members also were directly affected by the Eaton fire.
Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith lost a portion of the Altadena house he shares with actor-singer Mandy Moore and his home recording studio and instruments were destroyed. Goldsmith’s brother and bandmate, Griffin Goldsmith, and his pregnant wife also lost their home in the fire.
Spirits were high. “We’re appreciative of this moment. I hope people remember this concert forever,” said Scott Jones, 54, who brought his daughter to the concert at the Kia Forum. The Los Angeles-resident and his daughter wore black T-shirts with “First Responders” written across their chests.
“I hope some of the firefighters who are able to attend can come and decompress a little,” Jones said. “They needed it. I’m supportive of what they have done for this city.”
Donations are the focus
Throughout the show, viewers and attendees were encouraged to donate via FireAidLA.org.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie pledged to match all donations made during the live broadcast, doubling the proceeds. Crystal noted that because of their announcement, U2’s million dollar donation was worth twice that amount.
All of the proceeds will go to those affected. A 501(c)(3) was set up, and contributions to FireAid will be distributed under the Annenberg Foundation, which with FireAid has assembled a small committee to advise.
AP Entertainment Writers Mark Kennedy and Jonathan Landrum Jr. contributed to this report.
