Daisy Chain Fields: A recap of Olivia Rodrigo's all women music festival

By: Madison Howard, Features Editor

Daisy Chain Fields is a music festival started by pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Every artist on the lineup is a woman, and the festival was built around the idea that music and being together as a community can actually help push real change forward, not just give people a fun day out. 

The first ever Daisy Chain Fields took place on Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. Tickets sold out in just 30 minutes when they went on sale in June, and demand was so high that festival partner Verizon added more tickets so more fans could attend. The additional options included bundles pairing a ticket with a two to four night hotel stay for fans traveling from out of town, bringing total attendance to about 45,000 people. The festival was sponsored by Verizon along with Depop, Etsy and Taco Bell.

Before the festival even happened, Rodrigo announced a volunteer drive tied to Daisy Chain Fields, working with the group L.A. Works. Fans, who signed up to volunteer, were entered for a chance to win one of 125 pairs of tickets, giving people another way into the sold out event besides buying a ticket outright. The festival grounds were also built to be accessible, with accessible parking available and a contact email set up ahead of time for anyone who needed extra help getting in.

The lineup mixed huge names from different decades of music. Olivia Rodrigo headlined the night with performances throughout the day from Chappell Roan, Doechii, Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan, Mitski, Bikini Kill, Garbage, KATSEYE and the Breeders, along with sets from Rachel Chinouriri, Santigold, Devon Again and Die Spitz. 

Sarah McLachlan, who started the well known 1990s festival Lilith Fair, joined Rodrigo onstage during her headlining set for a couple of duets. Rodrigo has said Lilith Fair was a big part of what made her want to start Daisy Chain Fields in the first place, and that the first person she called once she decided to do the festival was McLachlan herself. Having McLachlan there felt like it closed a loop almost 30 years in the making, handing a festival, built around women in music, off to a new generation. During their time onstage together, the two singers dedicated a performance to Dolly Parton, who had died just a few days before the festival.

The rest of the day had plenty of standout moments too. Die Spitz, a four–piece band from Austin, Texas, played a high energy midday set that included one of the members doing a full handstand onstage while the rest of the band kept playing. Santigold's set included a dance contest with the crowd and pulled from some of her most well known songs, marking one of her only live shows in the past couple of years since she has mostly stepped back from touring. Rodrigo closed out the night by telling the crowd it felt like a dream, and that it was one of the best days of her life.

The festival also raised 20 million dollars in total; that money was split between 10 different nonprofit groups that support causes like women's issues and labor rights. That kind of number shows Daisy Chain Fields was never meant to be just one afternoon of music. Rodrigo has said in past interviews that she wanted to give young girls something positive to be a part of, and that she felt girls needed more role models who support other women instead of being pushed to compete with each other. She has also said she hopes the festival becomes something that happens every year instead of a one time thing.

Beyond the music and the money raised, the festival was also meant to be a place where fans could learn more about issues affecting women and girls, both in the United States and around the world, not just watch performances. There were resources and partnerships built into the event so fans, especially younger ones, could find information and support they might not have known how to find otherwise. Rodrigo has also said she wanted the look and feel of the festival to stand apart from her music career, describing the style of Daisy Chain Fields as a mix of punk energy and something softer and more flower filled.

Rodrigo has explained the meaning behind the festival's name this way: one daisy by itself is fragile, but a chain of daisies is much stronger and harder to break. That idea, those individual voices becoming more powerful once they were connected to each other, showed up throughout the entire day, from the lineup itself to the causes the festival ended up supporting.