How Daisy Chain Fields Brought Olivia Rodrigo’s Vision to Life
Daisy Chain Fields brought Olivia Rodrigo’s vision for a women-led music festival centered on uplifting and advocating for women and girls to 45,000 fans at Great Park in Irvine, California.
The lineup connected artists across generations, from Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan, Bikini Kill and Garbage to Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski and Rodrigo herself. The same sentiment carried across the festival, from the music, to festival activations and Daisy Chain Reaction, the festival’s onsite philanthropy village. Sets were scheduled without overlap. Ten non-profit organizations rooted in advancing and advocating for the health and rights of women and girls were the focal part of the day and the festival’s mission. Art and creative spaces invited fans to participate. Brand partners found ways to contribute to the experience. Every artist performed for free.
By the end of the night, the festival had raised $20 million for its nonprofit partners.
Live Nation research found 76% of fans are interested in festivals headlined by women. Daisy Chain Fields brought that demand to life through a festival shaped around the artists, causes and community Rodrigo wanted to bring together.
From Lilith Fair to Daisy Chain Fields
Rodrigo has credited Lilith Fair, the groundbreaking festival Sarah McLachlan co-founded in 1997, as a major inspiration for Daisy Chain Fields.
Nearly three decades of influence sat side by side on the lineup. Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan, Bikini Kill, Garbage and The Breeders joined Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski and Rodrigo across pop, rock, hip-hop and punk.
The schedule gave fans the chance to experience the full lineup. Sets across the two main stages did not overlap, so seeing one artist didn’t mean missing another.
Rodrigo’s closing set made those connections visible. McLachlan joined her for “Building a Mystery” and “Angel.” Alanis Morissette made a surprise appearance for “Ironic.” Stevie Nicks returned to perform “Landslide” with Rodrigo.
Rodrigo told the crowd there would be no Daisy Chain Fields without Lilith Fair. Nearly 30 years after McLachlan co-founded Lilith Fair, she stood beside Rodrigo onstage at the festival that helped inspire it.
The Mission Was Part of the Experience
The 10 non-profit organizations benefiting from Daisy Chain Fields were present throughout the festival.
At Daisy Chain Reaction, fans collected pins while learning about organizations working across reproductive rights, maternal health, education, gender-based violence and economic opportunity. Leaders from those groups also took the stage to introduce artists and talk about their work.
Elsewhere, Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree invited fans to add their hopes for the future to its branches. A road through the festival grounds highlighted women throughout history. Creative spaces gave fans opportunities to make something themselves.
That same point of view shaped how brands showed up.
Etsy created a Creative Village where fans could meet women makers, customize pieces from the official Daisy Chain Fields collection, make junk-journal pages and create keepsakes. LEGO invited thousands of fans to each build a piece of a larger collaborative artwork. Athleta created a space centered on wellness and contributed to the festival’s nonprofit partners.
Each brand found a way to participate in the world Daisy Chain Fields had created, giving fans something that belonged within the experience.
$20 Million Raised in One Day
Every artist on the bill waived their performance fee, allowing the festival to direct its net proceeds to the organizations it was built to support.
In the days leading up to the festival, Rodrigo announced Daisy Chain Fields raised $10 million for its nonprofit partners. Before Rodrigo began her headline set, Melinda French Gates joined her onstage and announced that she would match the full amount, bringing the total to $20 million raised.
The funds will support organizations including Planned Parenthood, the National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and more.
Rodrigo later called Daisy Chain Fields “the greatest joy” of her career and has already suggested it will return.
Its first year brought Rodrigo’s original idea to life at every level, from the generations of artists onstage to the causes throughout the grounds, the ways fans participated and the brands that became part of the day.
