Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who've lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires have come together for FireAid, a benefit concert 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 - topped the list. They launched into Breed, School and Territorial Pissings, respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl's daughter Violet Grohl then emerged on stage for All Apologies.
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into Last Night on Earth 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 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 - $US1 million.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood where he had lived for 46 years.
Is there any band more 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.
Later in the night, the recently reunited ska punk legends No Doubt, led by frontwoman Gwen Stefani, launched into "I'm Just a Girl," "Don't Speak," and "Spiderwebs."
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.
FireAid spread its performances between two venues, the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, providing a near seamless stream of music for more than five hours. Behind early performances, images of firefighters and the devastation brought forth by the fires appeared on screen.
Olivia Rodrigo and Sting provided memorable sets. Pink did a stripped-down version of What About Us, Janis Joplin's Me and Bobby McGee and Led Zeppelin's Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.
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 theorised if it burnt down, it would've destroyed the whole street.
Between sets, survivors telling the stories of losing their homes were broadcast throughout the arena - both in person and in video packages.
Throughout the show, viewers and attendees were encouraged to donate via FireAidLA.org.
With AAP.
