Women-led music festival Daisy Chain Fields had a wildly successful debut
Founded by pop star Olivia Rodrigo, the inaugural event raised $20 million toward organizations promoting women’s health and equity
By MIRIAM RAMAKRISHNAN — arts@theaggie.org
Back in 1997, a 3-year traveling music festival with an entirely female lineup including Fiona Apple, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu was founded by folk-pop icon Sarah McLachlan — dubbed Lilith Fair.
McLachlan cited the festival as a way to promote women in the music industry, with Nelly Furtado telling Vanity Fair that “[Lilith Fair] was probably one of the first ‘safe spaces’ in the history of the entertainment industry.”
In a Vulture article with McLachlan, interviewer Devon Ivie said that she likes “to think that someone like [pop star] Olivia Rodrigo” could revive Lilith Fair, and McLachlan agreed.
As of this August, that prophecy has been fulfilled.
Rodrigo brought McLachlan’s vision back to life in 2026 with Daisy Chain Fields — an Irvine-based music festival with all-female headliners — that sold out in 30 minutes. The lineup included Bikini Kill, Chappell Roan, special guest Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac and many more.
In an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Rodrigo explained that the name came from the notion of girls making daisy chain flower crowns and linking arms, an image that she wanted the whole festival to evoke.
At a press conference the day before Daisy Chain Fields, Rodrigo announced that $10 million had been raised in support of the charities that collaborated with the festival: Planned Parenthood, Baby2Baby and Center for Reproductive Rights, to name a few.
At the festival itself, she brought out philanthropist Melinda French Gates to declare that the latter would match all donations, bringing the total to $20 million.
The festival bill covered a range of genres, from punk to pop to metal. The artists also represented different generations, spanning from the 1970s to 2026, and performed for free.
With this intergenerational lineup, Daisy Chain Fields became a testament to the decades-long fight that women in music have waged for fairness in the industry. Despite the solidarity and peace that the festival represented, Daisy Chain Fields wasn’t without its growing pains — to be expected for a first-time event.
High temperatures in the 80s and 90s in Irvine left the crowd of 45,000 attendees weak, with artists Mitski, Rachel Chinouriri and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill urging people to drink water and stay hydrated.
Daisy Lane, the main path that ran through the festival grounds, was painted end to end with quotes and achievements from generations of women that shaped the industry before Rodrigo.
Further, a carousel, arts and crafts station and a festival zine gave Daisy Chain Fields a do-it-yourself feel rather than a typical corporate-sponsored festival.
Whether Daisy Chain Fields becomes an annual fixture remains to be seen, but this first run suggests that there’s still demand for what Lilith Fair set out to do almost 30 years ago.
Female solidarity in a male-dominated industry like music is as important now as it was in McLachlan’s era, and Rodrigo proved that girls sticking together will never go out of style.
Written by: Miriam Ramakrishnan — arts@theaggie.org