FireAid
FireAid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative that took place in Inglewood, California, United States, on January 30, 2025. The event, organized by the Annenberg Foundation, raised funds to help those affected by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, as well as funds to help prevent future wildfires in the area.
Several of the people involved in the production of the event were directly affected by the fires, including producer Tim Sexton, lead mixing engineer Bob Clearmountain, and technical director Eric Becker.
Performers
Most of the performers at the event had some connection to the Greater Los Angeles area.The concert ran for six hours. Setlist:
Intuit Dome
- Billie Eilish with Finneas O'Connell
- Earth, Wind & Fire
- Gracie Abrams with Aaron Dessner
- Jelly Roll
- Katy Perry
- Lady Gaga
- Lil Baby
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Peso Pluma
- Rod Stewart
- Stevie Wonder, "Higher Ground" )
- Sting
- Tate McRae
Kia Forum
- Alanis Morissette
- Anderson.Paak with Free Nationals and Sheila E. and "California Love" )
- Dawes and "Teach Your Children" )
- Green Day
- John Mayer
- Joni Mitchell
- Nirvana tribute with surviving members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, "School", "Territorial Pissings", "All Apologies" )
- No Doubt
- Pink
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Stevie Nicks
- The Black Crowes and "Going to California" )
Dave Matthews was originally scheduled to perform with John Mayer but canceled due to a family illness.
Fundraising
The Annenberg Foundation will distribute contributions to FireAid, whose organizers set up a 501(c)(3) for the purpose. Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie pledged to match all donations made during the live event. The Ballmers' offer was later extended to match donations made during streams for the next year. During his segment, Billy Crystal noted that band U2 pledged $1 million., organizers estimated that proceeds from donations, sales, and sponsorships are expected to exceed $100 million.
Online streaming partners
Following the event, streaming partners extended on-demand access to the broadcast for a full year. The concert was broadcast live on many different streaming platforms and radio stations around the world including:Video streaming platforms
- Prime Video/Amazon Live
- Apple TV+
- Disney+/Hulu
- Max/Crave
- Netflix/Tudum
- Paramount+/Pluto TV
- Peacock
- YouTube
- DirecTV app
- DirecTV Stream
- FanDuel Sports Network app
Music streaming platforms
Radio stations
- All 860+ iHeartRadio stations
- Life with John Mayer
News stations
Social media platforms
Concert streaming platforms
Movie theaters
Controversy
Six months after the concert was held, some victims of the fires told the media that they had not received any money from the concert organizers. The Annenberg Foundation responded:On July 31, 2025, Representative Kevin Kiley posted on X about this issue and requested the Department of Justice to investigate. In response, FireAid hired a law firm, Latham & Watkins to go over the funds sent.
https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-01-06-fireaid-report.pdf
| Recipient / Project | Goal | Amount |
| California Native Vote Project | Voter participation efforts for Native Americans | $100,000 |
| Various political advocacy groups | Political advocacy and related activities | $550,000 |
| Community Organized Relief Efforts and similar programs | Support for priority groups including undocumented immigrants | At least $250,000 |
| Podcast programming initiatives | Funding for podcasters and entertainment/media projects | $100,000 |
| Various nonprofits' administrative costs | Salaries, bonuses, consultant fees, and staff compensation | More than $500,000 |
| Fungus-planting and other unrelated projects | Environmental or symbolic recovery efforts not directly tied to victim relief | Not specified |