Daisy Chain Fields: Recap of the Empowering All-Women Festival
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
Daisy Chain Fields, a nonprofit music festival planned and hosted by 23-year-old Olivia Rodrigo, had only female headliners. On August 29, 2026, thousands of people came together in Irving, CA, to both celebrate how far women have come in the music industry and to make a statement about how much farther women still have to go.
Rodrigo was inspired by Sara McLachlan’s Lilith Fair. Like Daisy Chain Fields, the 1997 festival featured only women artists and bands. She wanted to build a community in the industry and give back to it. Lilith Fair raised over $10 million for women’s charities.
Image Credit: Rolling Stone
Daisy Chain Fields followed in its footsteps. With about 45,000 attendees, the festival raised an impressive $20 million for women’s charities. The festival partnered with 10 women-focused charities, including Baby2Baby, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, National Women’s Law Center, and Planned Parenthood. Their work includes providing resources to pregnant women and advocating for reproductive freedom.
Rodrigo also modeled the community-focused mindset of Lilith Fair into Daisy Chain Fields. The name itself reflects this intention; Rodrigo has described girls sitting by a tree, building flower crowns and daisy chains. She notes the symbolism – individual pieces tied together are stronger than the individual alone. A chain holds pieces together; each piece is uniquely its own but also contributing to keeping it together. The festival brought individual artists together to create something even more powerful: a community.
Rodrigo was able to draw nearly 50,000 fans and asked GRAMMY-winning artists, such as Chappell Roan and Doechii, to perform for free. She then used that power to take action, with each artist recognizing that the cause was more important than personal profits.
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
As if the lineup wasn’t stacked enough, the festival also featured Olivia Rodrigo herself, Mitski, Not For Radio, Stevie Nicks, and other artists, both emerging and established, who took the stage that day.
Image Courtesy: Daisy Chain Fields
Rodrigo closed the festival with Stevie Nicks, singing “Landslide” to the crowd. There were mothers and daughters, friends young and old, all sharing the moment of legacy and up-and-coming artists together. Daisy Chain Fields set the standard for young girls, as they got to watch people just like them command a room and dominate a stage. It also reminded older generations about how far women have come and celebrated the pioneers like McLachlan who inspired them with Lilith Fair.
Daisy Chain Fields provided important representation for women in the music industry, proving that women are stronger together. The artists are what drew people in, but they stayed because of its impact. The festival raised millions for reproductive rights, maternal care, and gender equality, provided a safe space for women and girls to feel seen and heard, and celebrated music as a means of bringing people together.
Rodrigo was able to balance the celebration of women’s success with the reverence for the work that still needs to be done.
Strike Out,
Writer: Anna Bullock
Editor: Abby Marshall
Graphic Designer: Jade Membreno
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