Watch Nirvana Play Surprise Reunion Set At FireAid With St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, Joan Jett, & Violet Grohl – Stereogum
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 30: St. Vincent (2nd R) performs onstage with (L-R) Pat Smear, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for FIREAID)
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In the past few weeks, people have been planning many, many benefits for the victims of the recent Los Angeles wildfires. The biggest of those shows went down last night: FireAid, a gigantic all-star spectacular that took over both the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum. Many, many huge names were announced for both venues ahead of time, but the biggest act to play FireAid was a surprise: The surviving members of Nirvana, back together for the first time since their 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and their secret aftershow at the since-shuttered Brooklyn venue St. Vitus.At the Forum, the reunited Nirvana were the second-to-last act of the evening. They played right before LA natives the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and not for the first time. Nirvana opened for the Chili Peppers on tour in 1991, after the two bands released Nevermind and Blood Sugar Sex Magik on the same day. When Nirvana played their Hall Of Fame induction a little more than a decade ago, a quartet of women stood in for the band’s late frontman Kurt Cobain. Last night, three of those four women once again joined the band.At the Forum, Nirvana members Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and Pat Smear played with their Hall Of Fame collaborators St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett. This time, they played different songs. St. Vincent led Nirvana through “Breed,” while Kim Gordon sang “School” and Joan Jett did “Territorial Pissings.” Grohl’s daughter Violet joined the band for their set closer “All Apologies,” the song that Lorde played with Nirvana at the Hall Of Fame induction. For that song, Gordon played bass, and Novoselic switched over to accordion. Notably, this was Grohl’s first live performance in any capacity since last September, when he announced the birth of a daughter outside of his marriage. After that announcement, the Foo Fighters canceled their headlining set at the Southside Music Festival, and they’ve also reportedly scrapped plans for a 2025 tour. Watch last night’s 15-minute Nirvana reunion set below.There were lots of other surprise performances, collaborations, and covers at last night’s FireAid festival, though nobody was going to match the charge of a Nirvana reunion. Green Day opened the night at the Forum, and LA native Billie Eilish joined them for “Last Night On Earth,” the first song of the evening. Later on, Eilish played her own acoustic set with her brother Finneas at the Intuit Dome. Anderson .Paak brought out surprise guests Dr. Dre and Sheila E., and Dre did “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love.” Dawes, whose band members Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith both lost their homes to the LA fires, played at the Forum. They were also part of Stephen Stills’ backing band, along with Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Stills played his Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth,” and then Stills’ longtime collaborator Graham Nash joined them for “Teach Your Children” — Stills and Nash’s first performance together since engineer Stanley Johnston’s funeral in 2016.Former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty joined the Black Crowes on a version of the Creedence classic “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” The Black Crowes also covered Led Zeppelin’s “Going To California” with surprise guest Slash. Pink also sang Zeppelin’s version of “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” as well as Janis Joplin’s “Me And Bobby McGee,” though it wasn’t her first time covering either of those songs. Over at the Intuit Dome, the National’s Aaron Dessner backed Gracie Abrams on a cover of Counting Crows’ “A Long December,” while Tate McRae sang Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a song that recently had a bit of a revival because of the Netflix Menendez Brothers miniseries. Before the show, news of a surprise Travis Barker guest appearance leaked; he joined Jelly Roll to cover Bob Seger’s Hollywood Nights.” Just like Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea played at both the Dome and the Forum. At the Dome, Flea and Sting joined Stevie Wonder for “Superstition” and “Higher Ground.” Lady Gaga was the last artist to play the Dome, and she debuted a new song called “All I Need Is Time,” which she wrote specifically for the event. The full two-venue show, which livestreamed on many platforms, lasted for nearly six hours.
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