On Saturday, January 10, 2026, Artists for Aid took over Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall for its third edition, a marathon benefit concert led by Sudanese-Canadian artist Mustafa and co-hosted by Bella Hadid and Pedro Pascal. The night was built around immediate relief for children and medical care in Palestine and Sudan, with proceeds going to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) and the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA). By the end of the show, the total raised hit $5.4 million.
The series follows two sold-out benefit shows last year in New Jersey (January) and London (July), and the 2026 lineup expanded the same idea across pop, rock, R&B, and poetry without losing the point of the room.
Here’s all the highlights from this year’s edition.
The Tone-setting Opening
Bella Hadid opened the night without slipping into host mode. She spoke about Palestinian hospitality, the warmth you feel the second you walk into a Palestinian home, then brought the room straight back to the purpose of the concert.
Mustafa followed and set the standard in plain terms. He reminded everyone that artists have power when they lead with empathy and act on it, not when they perform it. That message carried through the entire lineup.
A Lineup That Shouldn’t Work on Paper, but Absolutely Did
The show ran more than four hours, and part of what made it feel alive was how wide the musical range was without losing cohesion. In the same room, you had Geese bringing noise-rock energy and Shawn Mendes dropping a straight pop hit like “Stitches,” and it didn’t feel random because the cause was the common thread.
The Best Kind of Live Unpredictability
A highlight for anyone who likes their concerts with a little humanity, Omar Apollo forgot the lyrics to “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)” and finished the song reading from his phone. It was endearing, unguarded, and weirdly perfect for a night that wasn’t about performance.
The Duet Everyone Will Remember
Shawn Mendes brought out Maggie Rogers for “Youth” and played it straight. No big intro, no hype, just two voices meeting in the middle and letting the lyrics do the work. Rogers gave it grit, Mendes kept it clean, and the room actually listened. It read as support.
R&B Carried the Weight
Raphael Saadiq slowed the room down with “Sinners Prayer.” He kept it spare and conversational, like he was telling you a truth he’s been sitting with for years, and you could feel the audience switch from cheering to listening. Then Jazmine Sullivan took the bigger swing. She chose Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” and delivered it with restraint, which made the words land harder.
The Night’s Most Profound Political Art
The concert kept most of its onstage language focused on relief and care, but the poets Noor Hindi and Safia Elhillo went straight to the wound. They named what was happening without softening it, and they did it with so much heart that the room went quiet.
And Yes, There Was a Surprise Guest
Chappell Roan’s appearance gave the room a genuine lift. She brought pop energy and stage presence, then kept it in proportion. She never pulled the focus off the cause, which is exactly what the night needed.
What Artists for Aid did well, and what a lot of benefit shows get wrong, is stick to the purpose. The concert didn’t trade in vague “awareness” language or celebrity sentimentality. It pointed to specific work and specific recipients, then used the lineup to keep people in their seats and giving. Mustafa Ahmed and his collaborators treated the night like a fundraiser first and a show second, and the $5.4 million total proved the approach worked.
