By Dan Heching and Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
Billie Eilish, left, performs with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day during the FireAid benefit concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Photo: Invision / Chris Pizzello
An impressive lineup of musicians have came together for a good cause.
Two concerts collectively referred to as FireAid kicked off at the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome in the Los Angeles city of Inglewood to support relief efforts in the wake of the deadly wildfires that ignited earlier this month in the LA area, claiming 29 lives and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Green Day opened the Forum show with their song 'Last Night on Earth', featuring a surprise appearance by Billie Eilish, and then followed up with their anthem 'Still Breathing' off their 2016 album Revolution Radio and their 1994 hit 'When I Come Around' from Dookie.
After Green Day's performance, Billy Crystal welcomed the audience, and announced that U2 had just made a US$1 million (NZ$1.77m) donation, which was being matched to equal $2 million.
Serg Dimitrijevic, Verdine White, and Philip Bailey, Jr. of Earth, Wind & Fire perform. Photo: Invision / Jordan Strauss
Crystal said he lost his Pacific Palisades home of 46 years in the Palisades Fire, and spoke about the heartache he felt after losing his house and the memories attached to it. But, Crystal said, "It will be ok. With your help around the country and here in the room, we'll laugh again. We're going to listen to music again and we will be ok."
Samuel L. Jackson welcomed the crowd at the Intuit Dome once that concert got going, energetically thanking the first responders who were in the audience for the show. "We love our firefighters and we need to help them right now," he said. Jackson then introduced Sir Rod Stewart, who started his set with his hit 'Forever Young'.
Pink sang a pared-down acoustic set including a cover of Janis Joplin's gritty 1971 hit 'Me and Bobby McGee', a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' and her song 'What About Us'. Later, Slash made a surprise cameo, joining the Black Crowes to perform a Led Zeppelin cover of 'Going to California'.
Later in the show, Stevie Nicks shared a story during her set about how she nearly lost her Pacific Palisades home, which she said was made of wood and built in 1938. "She stands strong," Nicks said of her house that was saved because of the Santa Rosa firefighters who she said "never gave up". Nicks dedicated 'Landslide' to those first responders.
Joan Jett, second from right, performs with (from left) Pat Smear, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana during the FireAid benefit concert at The Forum in Inglewood. Photo: Invision / Chris Pizzello
There was also a major Nirvana moment when indie rocker St. Vincent made a surprise appearance to cover the epic '90s grunge band's 'Breed' with the band's original members Dave Grohl on the drums and bassist Krist Novoselic. Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon as well as Joan Jett came out to cover other Nirvana songs, with Grohl's daughter Violet coming on stage to cap off the swirling set with 'All Apologies'.
The shows raised money "for rebuilding communities devastated by wildfires and supporting efforts to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California", according to a news release.
Among the artists who performed at the concerts are native Angelenos Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gracie Abrams.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage at the Kia Forum, along with Alanis Morissette, No Doubt, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills and John Mayer. Dr. Dre and Sheila E. were surprise performers who took the stage alongside Anderson. Paak.
The second concert's lineup was also packed, with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jelly Roll, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Sting, Tate McRae and Stevie Wonder.
Gwen Stefani and members of No Doubt perform during the FireAid benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts. Photo: Reuters / Daniel Cole
The pop queens rocked toward the end of the show with Perry, of course, singing her 2010 classic 'California Gurls' while twirling around on stage with a California flag. Eilish performed three acoustic songs and spoke about her hometown, saying that Los Angeles is her "favourite place in the world".
Gaga closed out the show with two songs from the A Star is Born soundtrack, and ended with a new song that she said she wrote with her fiancé Michael Polanksy just for FireAid.
Those wishing to donate can visit fireaidla.org or text (310) 359-0579 for a donation link.
Contributions will be distributed under the advisement of the Annenberg Foundation, which will "help coordinate a team to direct funds for the greatest impact" and provide "short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters", a news release said.
According to the FireAid website, every donation made during the live stream on Thursday night was matched dollar for dollar.
- CNN
