SAN FRANCISCO — The stars were out in the sky and inside Oracle Park on Wednesday for Dreamfest, Salesforce’s annual benefit concert for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals that coincides with the annual Dreamforce conference. They say always have a back-up plan, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff certainly did. When original headliner Elton John was forced to drop out because of health issues, a superstar tag team of P!NK and Imagine Dragons stepped in.

The high profile event was decked out with all the touches one might expect from a concert with a minimum ticket price of $1,000. The wine was flowing and the hors d’oeuvres making their way throughout the stadium, while DJs and bands were stationed throughout the  concourses. The proceedings even included drone show with midair pyrotechnics. It’s was quite a spectacle.

The biggest star of the show was the cause. The $7 million raised completed a yearlong goal of $120 million in all. Actor Matthew McConaughey took the stage to help the donations get across the finish line.

In case you’re wondering @Dreamforce #Dreamfest has these incredible events every year to raise money for @UCSFChildrens in SF and Oakland. pic.twitter.com/InKcmwheFd

— Stanley Roberts 🎬░N░E░W░S░ ░I░N░ ░B░I░0░ (@StanleyRoberts) September 19, 2024

“Let’s also remember that we are here to do some good,” he announced.

Teenager Elena Sweet, who beat a rare form of bone cancer and was on hand to enthusiastically take in the proceedings, received the Colin Powell Medal of Courage.

“This is a triumphant 12-year-old who beat bone cancer with optimism and compassion,” said Dr. Nicholas Holmes, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals president.

“Show that medal to everybody!” McConaughey yelled before placing the ribbon around her neck.

The $120 million raised will help support care at the UCSF centers and help to build a state-of-the-art facility on the Oakland campus.

“All right, all right, all right; I think we got there,” McConaughey said, dropping his signature line once the fundraising goal was achieved.

P!NK was every bit the star during an energetic 75-minute performance. A modified version of her summer carnival tour, it was packed with hits and high-flying acrobatics.

“How the hell ya doin’?” she asked.

OMG @Pink what an amazing show! @UCSFChildrens @Dreamforce #DF24 #ForTheKids pic.twitter.com/L6H1sstMMg

— Charlie Isaacs (@charlieisaacs) September 19, 2024

The first act of the show was upbeat and danceable. Taking the stage to “Get the Party Started,” P!NK and dancers kept the momentum going  through an opening barrage of anthems like “Raise Your Glass,” “Just Like A Pill,” and a dance remix of “What About Us.”

An interpretive dance segued into the second act, which saw the singer taking to the air for her first stunt with “Turbulence.” She slowed the pace and had a conversation with the audience, something she continued the rest of the evening. She shouted out her longtime keyboard player for their ongoing musical guessing game. He plays a song and if P!NK gets it correct, she gets candy.

“He’s been playing with me for 27 years, which is crazy because I’m 24 and a half,” she said with a wink. “You don’t want me on your trivia team, but you want me at the bar because I buy drinks.”

Tossing her won candy to the crowd, she joked how the San Francisco show was a rare chance that she was away from her kids, who’re in school. She quipped how one of them will pop in at an inopportune time—like when she’s in the bathroom—with a random question.

“’What are we doing for Thanksgiving?’” she gave one as an example. “Dude, just get out and go play Fortnite.”

Continuing with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” and “Just Give Me A Reason,” she then talked about recruiting her longtime guitarist, Justin, and then about injuring her knee, which affects her aerial performances.

“I tore my meniscus, but I’m doing the best I can!” she said. “Who needs two, anyways? I just need one a some tape.”

The show continued with “I Am Here,” as well as a rousing singalong on a cover of 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” After the upbeat “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” and “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” P!NK went airborne across the Oracle Park field during “So What.”

Imagine Dragons went heavy on the hits during their hourlong opening, fusing thunderous rhythms with anthemic choruses. Led by frontman Dan Reynolds, the band played an energetic set buoyed by a vibrant production of lights and multicolored screens.

“This band started about 15 years ago in Las Vegas, playing for the cheapest beer on the strip at O’Shea’s,” Reynolds said midway through. “We got our start playing six-hour gigs earning $500, living together in a house.”

Reynolds said he found parallels with between those bar shows and playing in front of thousands of Dreamforce attendees at a baseball stadium.

“People will ask me in the meet-and-greets if I hate playing things like this,” he continued. “This is like the shows [where] we started, playing for a room of strangers and getting to know you for an hour. We love this.”

The band was tight and engaged, opening with “Believer,” “Thunder” and “Bones.”

“What a beautiful night. It’s an honor and a privilege to be here,” Reynolds said.

The band stuck to the upbeat anthems, front-loading the performances with its biggest hits. Some tracks had some modified arrangements, like “Whatever It Takes,” which opened with a mellowed blues feel before kicking in with the full band.

“This is a song we wrote over a decade ago that changed our lives,” Reynolds said of “Radioactive.” The frontman then, as tradition for Imagine Dragons, joined Andrew Tolman in a drum battle, hammering away at a tom drum.

Reynolds played piano for a stripped down intro to “Demons.” He also reminisced about his upbringing as a Mormon,  traveling to Nebraska to knock on doors as a missionary. Joking, he asked if anyone in attendance ever opened the door for him.

“I’m not religious anymore, but I love to sing songs about it,” he said. “This is a song about religious guilt called ‘I’m So Sorry.”

The band concluded its set with “Enemy” and “Walking on a Wire,” but before leaving, Reynolds paid homage to P!NK.

“Of all the voices I’ve heard in person, hers is the very best. She is nothing but the real thing and I love her,” he said. “We hope to see you again somewhere around the world, thank you for sharing your spirit with us.”

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.