For one night, musicians “united under tragedy” to commemorate one year since the Eaton Fire forever changed the Altadena, California, community.
A Concert for Altadena, held on Jan. 7 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, was an emotional and uplifting night presented by the band Dawes.
On Jan. 7, 2025, a fire blazed through the Eaton canyon, making its way towards the mountain town of Altadena. On the far west side of Los Angeles, the Palisades fire was also blazing and wreaking havoc. A total of 31 people died and the fires destroyed about 13,000 homes and residential properties, leaving thousands displaced.
To pay tribute to the lives, homes and businesses lost, the one-night benefit concert brought the Altadena community together in hopes of raising money for the Altadena Builds Back Foundation. The organization helps provide resources and options for people who want to stay and rebuild in Altadena.
“We were all affected in different ways. Every person in Altadena was affected at once, but everyone’s stories are unique and different,” co-producer and co-organizer Kevin Lyman, the creator of Warped Tour and longtime Altadena resident, tells TODAY.com. “(We are) united under one tragedy.”
Approached by Dawes and guitarist Eric Krasno, Lyman teamed up with the two and began producing a show to support the community, raise funds and provide 250 tickets to Altadena residents directly impacted by the fire.
The support was immediate. Everyone who helped with the production, Lyman says, were friends who became “extended family.” The participants also had ties to Altadena, Palisades or Los Angeles and were impacted by the fires.
“I think in Altadena now, we’re all an extended family,” Lyman says, before noting the similarities between rebuilding the town and producing a show for the community. “It’s such a huge undertaking that if you look at it as a whole, it’s overwhelming... And all we want to do is bring people together.”
Hosted by actor and Altadena resident John C. Reilly, taking the stage during the over three-hour event was Taboo from Black Eyed Peas, who performed “Stand Strong,” his song with his daughter Jett Gomez. Jenny Lewis, Ozomatli, Everclear, Aloe Blacc, Rufus Wainwright, Lord Huron, Judith Hill and Lucius were also part of the line up.
Mandy Moore performed her early hit single “Candy” alongside husband Taylor Goldsmith, singer and guitarist of Dawes. The “This Is Us” star and her family’s home was impacted by the fire, with her in-laws and family losing their houses.
Earlier in the day, Moore had expressed how grateful she was to give back to her town after so much “trauma and grief.”
“My heart is with everyone affected: the lives that were lost and the lives that were forever changed on both sides of our beautiful city,” she wrote on Instagram, in part. “I’m grateful for the chance to gather tonight and celebrate how resilient Altadena is; to be in community with one another and MUSIC to commemorate what we’ve lived through and what comes next. I am endlessly grateful to those near and far who supported Los Angeles in our time of need. The work has only just begun but we’re in it together. Altadena forever.”
Brad Paisley played guitar with several artists and performed his song with Dawes, “Raining Inside.” Brandon Flowers from The Killers also helped close out the show before Dawes concluded the event with all their friends.
Speakers from Habitat For Humanity, as well as Altadena Girls, also participated in the event, expressing uplifting words and preaching “Altadena Strong.” Students from Pasadena Waldorf School, which is permanently closed after being damaged by the fire, attended, too.
With rebuilding efforts slowly happening, and only about 10 homes rebuilt so far, according to The Associated Press, the event was able to raise more than $450,000 for the Altadena Builds Back Foundation. There is still an online auction happening through Feb. 21.
“I walk out of my house and I start hearing hammers and I hear saws and I hear trucks coming... (It’s) the sound of rebuilding. That’s how you build a song, one note at a time,” Lyman tells TODAY.com. “Then it becomes, hopefully, something people love — and that’s what Altadena will become again. It’s going to change... It never will be (the same), but that’s OK.”
