On Thursday, Jan. 30, Kia Forum and Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California hosted some of Hollywood’s most famous musicians in a concert to raise money to support the communities impacted by the southern California fires. Many of the biggest names in music performed at the concert to support the community.
According to an article from The New York Times, there have been many fires throughout California in the past two weeks, but the two largest have been the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire. The Palisades fire burned more than 23,400 acres of land, while the Eaton fire burned more than 14,000 acres. Unfortunately, the fires combined have killed at least 29 people, making them two of the deadliest in California history.
The FireAid benefit concert aimed to raise money to restore the affected communities. The concert featured over 30 performers and attracted more than 50 million viewers across 28 streaming platforms.
Green Day began the concert with their song “Last Night on Earth” and brought out Billie Eilish to sing with them. This was followed by a performance from Alanis Morrissette. Afterward, Anderson .Paak took the stage, singing with a few different performers, though one of the most notable was .Paak and Dr. Dre singing “California Love.”
The concert also featured famous actors and comedians who spoke, hosted and recognized the first responders who had fought in the fires. The speakers encouraged those watching to donate money. Hosts included Billy Crystal, Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Kimmel, to name a few.
A while later, the concert brought out John Mayer, followed by the iconic Earth, Wind and Fire, who performed a few songs, including their legendary hit, “September.” Later, some newer artists, such as Gracie Abrams and Tate McRae, performed. After recounting the night her Palisades home nearly burned down before being saved by firefighters, Stevie Nicks sang Fleetwood Mac’s ever-beautiful “Landslide.”
“I cannot believe the bravery of these men,” Nicks said of the Los Angeles County firefighters.
One of the most talked about acts of the concert came from a nearly complete Nirvana reunion. Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear took the stage while St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett filled in on the vocals. To finalize the act, the band brought out Grohl’s 18-year-old daughter Violet to sing “All Apologies.”
The final stretch of musicians included Lil Baby, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo and Stevie Wonder. The final act was performed by Lady Gaga, who gave a solo rendition of “Shallow” before performing “Always Remember Us This Way.” According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Gaga said she wanted to “do something hopeful for the show” but couldn’t find the right song, so she wrote a new one.
“It’s just for tonight, just for you,” Gaga said.
Donations from the concert, including those from the Eagles, U2 and some music executives, are expected to exceed $100 million. If you are interested in donating money to support fire relief in and around Los Angeles, please visit LA STRONG for more information.
