On Jan. 10, Mustafa led the third Artists for Aid benefit show in support of Sudan and Palestine — and it was a major success.
Following two successful sold-out events in New Jersey and London in 2024, the award-winning Canadian songwriter and poet brought the concert to Los Angeles. Equally raising funds for the Sudanese American Physicians Association and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, the west coast date brought in $5.5 million.
The show featured some major artists, including Canadians Shawn Mendes and Daniel Caesar, singing a selection of their hits. Mendes made his Artists for Aid debut, while Caesar marked his third appearance at the benefit show.
Before kicking off his two-song set, Mendes led a prayer for the children in Sudan and Palestine. “May you be free from fear, may you be free from suffering, may you be safe,” he shared. “May you be free from fear, may you be free from suffering, may you feel peace, may you feel joy, may you feel love.”
He launched into “Youth,” a fan favourite track on 2018’s Shawn Mendes. While it’s originally a duet with Khalid, Mendes often brings in other artists to joing him in the empowering anthem. At his Vancouver show last year, he brought out Cree-Salish artist Tia Wood. This time, singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers joined Mendes for a soulful duet. He wrapped up his set with one of his earliest hits, “Stitches.”
In recent months, Mendes has used his platform to speak out about political issues. While on tour in Portugal, he shared that he regretted not speaking out about Palestine earlier. “What’s been happening in Gaza is absolutely breaking my heart,” he told the crowd. “The future is truly in our hands, and I feel like it’s our responsibility to stop these cycles and to choose love.”
Before taking the stage for his own set, Caesar joined British singer Rex Orange County on-stage to perform their collaboration “Rearrange My World,” from Caesar’s 2023 record, Never Enough.
To close out the evening, Caesar performed an acoustic set of three songs, including a touching rendition of “Who Knows,” from 2025’s Son of Spergy, followed’ by “Toronto 2014” and “Superpowers,” both from Never Enough. Mustafa joined Caesar for a performance of their collaborative song “Toronto 2014,” captivating listeners with their effortless harmonizing.
Last year, Caesar spoke about how Mustafa and the Artists for Aid concerts played into his new album in his recent cover story for Billboard and Billboard Canada. The R&B singer-songwriter shared that it helped him connect to “something bigger than himself” and embrace a cause that he once felt too nervous to talk about.
organized by mustafa and daniel, the artists for aid benefit concert in LA this weekend brought together 20+ artists for a beautiful night of music, poetry, and community. the event raised $5.5 million for the palestine children’s relief fund and sudanese american physicians association. #mustafathepoet @DanielCaesar #artistsforaid #freepalestine🇵🇸❤️ #freesudan🇸🇩
Outside of homegrown talent, the L.A. concert featured performances from many artists, some of which flexed their second or third appearance, while others were new additions.
First-timer Lucy Dacus was joined by Chappell Roan for a cover of “The Book of Love” by legendary indie-pop group Magnetic Fields. “My friend cold FaceTimed me a few days ago and said, ‘Can I come sing with you at the show?’ So I’d like to invite my friend Chappell Roan to the stage,” Dacus told the crowd. Of the emotional ballad, she revealed that they picked a song they “both really love.”
Indie singer-songwriter Clairo took the stage for her third time, shouting out Mustafa and the Artists for Aid team. She performed two tracks from her acclaimed 2024 album, Charm: “Terrapin” and “Juna,” which became a TikTok hit in 2024, hitting No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart.
she’s so perfect #artistsforaid #shrineauditorium #la #clairo #clairo
In addition, Noname, Ravyn Lenae, Blood Orange, Omar Apollo, Faye Webster, Snoh Aalegra and more took the stage at the L.A. concert. The night was co-hosted by Bella Hadid and Pedro Pascal.
After the show, Mustafa took to social media to announce how much money was raised from the benefit concert.
“I am forever indebted to every artist, every organiser, every believer, every hand,” he wrote on Instagram. “I am nothing but a bridge and if all I’ve done in this life is walk artists to each other, and walk artists to people whose voices are missing, then I’ve lived a life worth dying for. I’ll be going offline for a while to find my voice again, be well everyone.”
The third benefit show comes after the artist and activist won the first-ever SOCAN Polaris Song Prize for “Gaza Is Calling” last September. On his acclaimed debut album, Dunya, the track is dedicated to a childhood friend from Palestine.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ca.billboard.com ’
