One show was inside; the other was out. One show was heavy metal; the other was pop. One show was shredding guitar solos; the other was music video-style choreography.

Welcome to Dreamfest 2018, where concurrent concerts by Metallica and Janet Jackson swept Trailblazers up in a night of live music by legendary performers.

One thing they had in common was performing for a good cause: the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

Before the festivities kicked off, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital patient Myla Cunanan was presented with the Colin Powell Medal of Courage. In spite of her own medical challenges, Myla has worked hard to help others by organizing donor registration drives to highlight the need for diverse bone marrow donors. Her generous birthday wish was for books to donate to the hospitals’ school program, and Myla also encouraged her supporters to donate bandages to her fellow patients.

 UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital patient Myla Cunanan took the stage to accept her Colin Powell Medal of Courage award.

Outside San Francisco City Hall, Trailblazer metal heads filled Civic Center Plaza with enthusiastic head-bobbing to the drum beats of Lars Ulrich, who spoke to Dreamforce audiences earlier in the conference about how the band transformed their website leveraging Salesforce. The lights and sounds of a legendary rock ‘n’ roll band blasted into the chilly night.

Inside warm Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Janet Jackson dished out No. 1 hits as dancers behind her moved in unison and a crowd of Trailblazers sang along to “Nasty Boys,” “Together Again,” and “Rhythm Nation.”   

After Jackson wrapped up her last song – a new Latin-inspired track – the dense crowd poured out into the night just in time for the end of Metallica's set. As the band ended with their iconic song "Enter Sandman" a surprise fireworks show pierced the San Francisco fog, ringing out like final cymbal crashes for concerts of two legendary artists.