By Dan Condon
Photo: ABC
The Southern Californian wildfires have been all over our newsfeeds for weeks now.
As the city picks up the pieces and this horrific disaster hopefully abates, the world's biggest musicians will come together to help raise much needed money for the recovery efforts.
FireAid, an enormous benefit concert across two big LA venues, takes place this week, and some of the most revered artists of all time will be there to help raise a ton of money to help the city recover from this horrific disaster.
Read on to find all the details of the shows.
Who is playing?
Who isn't playing?!
As you might expect, this is a star-studded affair. Los Angeles is close to the hearts of so many musicians, so it wouldn't have been difficult to secure some of the biggest artists in the world to donate some time to the cause.
Californian icons like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Katy Perry and Billie Eilish will be there - and it wouldn't have felt right if they weren't.
Photo: AFP
Genuine legends of the game have signed up, meaning we'll see performances from Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rod Stewart, and an ultra-rare performance from the iconic Joni Mitchell.
Californian ska-pop-punk legends No Doubt play their first shows since reforming for Coachella, Bay Area stadium punks Green Day are also locked in, as are southern rockers The Black Crowes.
And some of the biggest names in pop will also be there, with Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, P!nk, and Gracie Abrams among those getting involved on the night.
That's only scratching the surface. Here's the full line-up:
Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak, Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews & John Mayer, Lil Baby, No Doubt, Olivia Rodrigo, P!nk, Peso Pluma, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dawes, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gracie Abrams, Graham Nash, Green Day, Jelly Roll, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tate McRae, The Black Crowes.
When and where is it happening?
FireAid will take place across two massive LA venues at the same time, allowing for more artists, more tickets and, hopefully, more money raised.
Part of the show will happen at the 17,000-capacity Los Angeles Forum in Inglewood, while the other part will take place just down the road at the similar-sized Intuit Dome, the home of the LA Clippers basketball franchise.
The show starts at 6pm local time, which means we'll see it from noon NZ time on Friday, 31 January.
There's no timetable at this point, nor do we expect to see one, so there's a good chance you'll just have to keep your eye on the broadcast if you're waiting to see someone in particular.
How can I watch?
In the interests of ensuring as many people as possible can watch - and hopefully donate money - the concert will be broadcast on multiple streaming platforms.
As it stands, these are the locally available platforms that will be streaming the show in the US: Amazon Music/Prime Video, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Disney+, Facebook, Instagram, iHeartRadio, Netflix, Paramount+, SoundCloud, Veeps, YouTube.
So far, we have confirmation that fans can 'stream' the show on Apple Music and that the show will not be broadcast on Paramount+ in Australia.
Where does the money go?
A press release confirms that proceeds will be directed by the Annenberg Foundation, a philanthropic group founded in the late-80s by Walter H. Annenberg.
"Contributions made to FireAid, in connection with the FireAid benefit concert, and other direct donations will be distributed under the advisement of the Annenberg Foundation and will be distributed for short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California.
"The Annenberg Foundation, with decades of philanthropic leadership in our community, including rapid response, will help coordinate a team to direct funds for the greatest impact."
Speaking to the Associated Press this week, organiser Shelli Azoff said they were determined to ensure the money got into the right hands.
"It was very important for us to find people that were familiar with the right organisations. So that we could place the money in the right place," she said.
"I think that all of us are really committed to getting the money to the people that have been very affected.
"It means a lot to me to get it to people that haven't been thought about. And those are the people that don't have jobs anymore due to the businesses being down as well."
Any tips or rumours?
With artists of this magnitude involved, there's bound to be conjecture around what will happen on the night.
Some Lady Gaga fans reckon they have figured out her set list already. With the acclaimed art-pop impresario just announcing her long-awaited new album, Mayhem, this week, there'll be plenty of fans hoping for a preview of the new material.
A report from Associated Press during the week said that "FireAid will also feature special guest appearances and surprises", which has kept fandoms buzzing.
While rumours of a guest appearance from British pop hero Harry Styles have cooled a little in recent days, there is still a contingent who believe he'll show up on the night.
Last week, an erroneous report from UK tabloid website UK News In Pictures suggested Fleetwood Mac guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham would appear at the show.
If that were correct - and it's a very big 'if' - it would be a remarkably rare showing from the artist, who has given few performances in recent years.
It would also put him on the same line-up as former partner and band mate Stevie Nicks at a show organised by former manager Irving Azoff, the two people Buckingham blamed for his ousting from Fleetwood Mac in 2018.
Buckingham recently urged his followers to "embrace the spirit of togetherness, compassion, and the resolve to rebuild" after the fires - make of that what you will.
Speaking of Azoff, one report we can confirm is true is that the classic rock band Eagles kicked off the donations with a $US2.5 million pledge to the FireAid charity. Azoff, currently the Eagles' manager, has a relationship with the band stretching back to the early 1970s.
While there aren't currently any estimates as to how much will be raised, the event is starting from a strong base.
"The outpouring from the community and the corporate support we've gotten for the event, I will tell you already, we're north of $US50 million," Azoff told AP.
What else is happening?
There are of course many smaller benefit concerts and fundraisers happening in the city. Sadly, most of them less accessible for us to watch from the other side of the world.
One that Australian fans can watch is G*ve A F*ck LA - A Benefit For LA Fire Relief, featuring acts like Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, Finneas, Lucy Dacus, MUNA, Perfume Genius, The Linda Lindas, Phantom Planet, Courtney Barnett, Christopher Owens, Reggie Watts, Fred Armisen, Jenny Lewis, Juliette Lewis and Scout Willis. It takes place at the Hollywood Palladium on February 6, Australian time, and will stream via Veeps.
LA Gives Back is another fundraiser featuring a bunch of very funny and talented folk. The show will be hosted by Reggie Watts, Hannah Rad, Jesse Camp, Avita Ash and Samantha Urbani, and will feature performances from the likes of Alice Glass, Chrome Sparks, Spank Rock, Marc Rebillet, Aaron Frazer and many more. It happens this Thursday, Australian time.
No doubt there will be plenty more benefit shows as the city renowned as a hotbed of the entertainment industry looks to recover from this horrific disaster.
This story first appeared on [www.abc.net.au abc.net.au]
