Olivia Rodrigo turned her first Daisy Chain Fields festival into an ambitious celebration of women across generations of popular music, bringing some of today’s biggest performers together with artists who helped shape the musical landscape they inherited.
Held August 29 at Great Park in Irvine, California, the inaugural festival featured Rodrigo alongside Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, Garbage, the Breeders, Santigold and Stevie Nicks, among others.
The lineup reflected the larger idea behind Daisy Chain Fields. Inspired in part by Sarah McLachlan’s groundbreaking Lilith Fair, Rodrigo built an event designed to connect different generations of women rather than separate them by genre or era.
That philosophy became particularly clear during Rodrigo’s headlining performance.
McLachlan joined her onstage for “Building a Mystery” and “Angel,” creating a direct link between the festival that helped inspire Daisy Chain Fields and the new generation carrying that idea forward.
Alanis Morissette also made an appearance after Karen O was unable to participate because of a family emergency. Rodrigo and Morissette teamed up for “Ironic,” adding another unmistakable voice from the 1990s to the evening.
Then came Stevie Nicks.
Rodrigo and the Fleetwood Mac legend performed “Landslide” together, giving the festival another moment that neatly captured its cross-generational purpose.
The younger artists on the bill made equally strong statements.
Doechii delivered one of the day’s most visually ambitious performances, taking the stage covered in vivid pink body paint alongside dancers styled in similar shades. Her elaborate choreography and large-scale production gave her set the feeling of a headline performance within an already packed festival.
Chappell Roan approached the occasion with her own theatrical flair. Sporting a short red bob and a futuristic retro-inspired look, she powered through a set focused on songs already familiar to her rapidly expanding audience.
Elsewhere, artists including Mitski, Garbage, Bikini Kill and the Breeders helped broaden the musical range of the festival, reinforcing Rodrigo’s effort to create a bill that represented multiple sounds, careers and generations.
But Daisy Chain Fields was built around more than performances.
The festival raised $10 million through ticket sales for 10 nonprofit organizations supporting women and girls. Melinda French Gates, through Pivotal Ventures, matched that amount, pushing the total contribution to $20 million.
Nonprofit groups were also given a presence at the festival itself, connecting attendees with organizations working on issues including women’s health, legal rights and workplace protections.
For a first-year festival, Daisy Chain Fields arrived with unusually large ambitions. Rodrigo did not simply assemble a collection of famous names. She created a meeting place for artists whose careers span decades while connecting the celebration onstage with organizations working beyond it.
The result was a festival where pop stardom, rock history, hip-hop, activism and philanthropy occupied the same field.
And with $20 million raised along the way, Daisy Chain Fields made its opening statement a substantial one.
