Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival turned its first night into both a major pop event and a large-scale benefit, bringing an all-women lineup to Great Park in Irvine, California, on August 29.
Rodrigo closed the festival with a set billed as “Olivia Rodrigo & Special Guests.” Rolling Stone reported that Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette and Stevie Nicks joined Rodrigo during her headlining performance.
The pairings connected several generations of women-led pop and rock. McLachlan’s appearance carried particular weight because Daisy Chain Fields was openly inspired by the community spirit of Lilith Fair, the women-centered touring festival she founded in the 1990s.
The broader festival lineup included Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, Garbage, The Breeders, Santigold and other women and women-led acts across two stages. The official Daisy Chain Fields site described the event as a one-of-a-kind festival built around music, nonprofit partnerships, immersive art and community spaces.
The benefit side was equally significant. The Associated Press reported that Daisy Chain Fields raised $20 million for organizations supporting women’s well-being, including a $10 million pledge from Pivotal Ventures, the organization founded by Melinda French Gates.
The festival’s nonprofit partners include Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center for Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Women’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood.
Great Park’s official event listing described the festival as a project designed to support and uplift women and girls, with net proceeds benefiting nonprofit organizations focused on advocacy and services.
Daisy Chain Fields also alternated performances between its Dandelion and Marigold stages so audiences could move from one act to the next without choosing between simultaneous headliners.
For 45Audio, the significance is both musical and structural. The lineup brought arena-scale stars, legacy artists, punk bands and newer acts into one shared bill, while the fundraising model turned the festival into more than a branded one-off concert.
Whether Daisy Chain Fields becomes an annual event has not yet been announced. Its first edition, however, immediately established a high bar: major guest appearances and a reported eight-figure charitable impact in a single day.
