Santa always has a lot of celebrity helpers. It may come as a surprise that one of the biggest philanthropic events of this holiday season was actually thrown by Metallica. On Dec 13th, the undisputed kings of heavy metal threw their fourth ‘Helping Hands’ gala and concert event for their foundation, All Within My Hands. The evening was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and featured a star-studded lineup of special guest acts and presenters. We were lucky enough to score a pair of seats. Here’s how it all went down.
The Helping Hands benefit was held at the YouTube theater in Los Angeles. The venue seats 6,000 which is a staggeringly intimate number when compared to Metallica‘s status quo of selling out the largest stadiums and arenas around the world. Just a year prior, band sold out two nights at Sofi Stadium, which is literally across a courtyard from the YouTube theater, to a tune of nearly 80,000 attendees each night. The SoFi shows were part of their M72 world tour, which is still underway and will be the bands longest tour to date- spanning from April 2023 and wrapping up in November 2025. Somehow, in the midst of it all, they made time to get holiday cozy.
After the obligatory stroll down the black carpet, the night kicked off with an opening guest set from Sista Strings. Actual sisters Chauntee and Monique Ross were a delight to the senses, and about as far as you can get from what you’d expect to open a Metallica concert. The classically trained duo play violin and cello and with a serious serving of soul. Though they are no strangers to touring with some of today’s biggest acts, it’s clear that a metal show was new territory.
Still, the sisters held their own in every way and made for a very graceful start to the evening.
Having whet our musical palates, the guests and the giving got underway. Longtime friend of the band, Tom Morello gave a moving speech about the importance of community, and non-digital interaction especially for children as he introduced Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. Ament’s foundation, the Montana Pool Service has been hard at work for the last many years building professional level skate parks, many specifically for Indigenous youth in Montana and the Dakotas. In Ament’s own words, “Having a thing that makes you feel alive, saves lives.”
AWMH honored the work that Ament had undertaken and cut a hefty check to help fund the construction of six new park projects in 2025.
For a moment, the evening felt almost too tame. Here were all these rock legends speaking softly and on their best behavior. Then came Sammy Hagar. Sauntering out with a bottle of tequila and feeling doubly emboldened with the Silver Surfer himself, Joe Satriani by his side, Sammy began to shake us all out of our lull. Along with original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and legendary drummer Aronoff, they went through classics from VH, Hagar’s own catalog and of course, a few of their own as a group, Chicken Foot. It as a surprise treat that few were expecting but we all thoroughly enjoyed.
In a 180-degree contrast to Ament’s rural focus and Hagar’s brazen bottle rock, the next special guest presenter was Wu-Tang mastermind RZA who spoke to the value of rehabilitation and second chances. RZA highlighted the work of Homeboy Industries, a LA-based nonprofit that provides training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community. Homeboy COO Steve Delgado spoke briefly and once again, the AWMH foundation pledged it support with a long string of zeros.
Finally, the moment we’d all been waiting for arrived, or so we thought. Kimmel popped out once again to introduce the fearsome foursome and Metallica took the stage. To everybody’s surprise, they had acoustic guitars in hand. No big amps on the stage. Frontman James Hetfield sat down on a stool, leaned into the microphone, and simply said “Alright, shhhhh. Acoustic.” The group played several songs in their most stripped-down possible form. Opening act Sister Strings came and join them for a few tunes which was actually quite special to see and gave a taste of the band’s 1999 S&M album recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. Finally, after their most well-known ballad, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, they took a bow and Hetfield coyly whispered “Thank you. We’ll be back with louder guitars”.
As the band took their time to switch into the thunderous electric titans that everyone has come to expect, Kimmel honored one more organization. Maggie Baird and her foundation Support + Feed were introduced via video messages from her two kids, Fineas and Billie Eilish. The Support + Feed Foundation focuses on nutritional education providing access to plant-based meals to those in need. To date they have served over one million meals. This organization was a perfect final honoree for the night as the fight against hunger is the cornerstone to the All Within My Hands mission. Metallica actually donates a percentage of proceeds from every show to local organizations in the host city. Feeding the people is a part of their ethos and with one final donation to Support + Feed, it was time for our main course.
To kick off the full-throttle set we’d all come to see, actor and activist Jason Momoa took the stage to re-introduce the band. A self-proclaimed lifelong fanboy, Mamoa seemed to speak for everyone in the building as he praised the place that Metallica held in his life and the lives of so many others. With a roar like only he could utter, Mamoa screamed their name and the four horsemen came thundering forth.
If there was even a sliver of a question about their level of gusto after the slow acoustic start, it was blown away in just a few notes. Metallica ripped through eight songs ranging from their first studio album ‘Kill Em All’ through their 11th and latest ‘72 Seasons’ for which their current tour is named. Honoree and bassist Jeff Ament joined the group for one song. Tom Morello never picked up an axe and respectfully left the shred to Hammett and Hetfield. They notably skipped their most commercially successful song of all time ‘Enter Sandman’ and closed their set with ‘Master of Muppets,’ arguably the true fan favorite and certainly one of their all-time greatest hits.
For a band that’s been rocking as hard as they have for over 42 years, Metallica showed no signs of losing steam. Just as impressive as their decades-long run and enduring dynamic performances was the context of the whole evening. The black-clad giants of sonic aggression turned down the decibels and spoke deeply from their hearts about what it means to give back and why it matters so much. In a world where far too many celebrities are only doing good for the gram and the tax write-offs, Metallica are as genuine and committed to making the world a better place as they come.
Go take a look for yourself and see just how much good the All Within My Hands Foundation is doing via their website here. Also, the silent auction for this most recent Helping Hands benefit is still open through Jan 7th. With items ranging from signed guitars and merch to future concert packages, it’s not too late to get in on the giving action yourself. No matter how you choose to do it, take a page from the masters of metal and go make a difference for the greater good.
