Tens of thousands of music lovers descended on Great Park in Irvine, Calif., over the weekend to scream along to their favourite artists — part of a history-making event to raise funds for women’s health, reproductive rights and ending gender-based violence.
Daisy Chain Fields is the inaugural charity festival spearheaded by pop darling Olivia Rodrigo, following in the footsteps of the 1990s’ trailblazing Lilith Fair with its all-women lineup.
The event brought together stars new and old, with queer pop star Chappell Roan and rapper Doechii featured alongside legacy punk and rock acts like Bikini Kill and Garbage.
Prior to the start on Saturday, Rodrigo announced that they had raised $10 million US for the festival’s 10 non-profit partners, including Planned Parenthood, the National Institute for Reproductive Health and Black Mamas Matter Alliance — a figure which was then matched by Melinda French Gates to bring the total to $20 million US.
Rodrigo first announced the festival in June, sharing that stars would perform for free, with all net proceeds going “to charities dedicated to advancing and advocating for women and girls.”
The 23-year-old paid homage to those who paved the way, performing Landslide with Stevie Nicks and bringing two Canadian icons out onstage during her set.
Alanis Morissette made a surprise appearance in place of Karen O, lead vocalist of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who was unable to make the event. Morissette performed her hit Ironic with Rodrigo, updating one lyric from “his beautiful wife” to “his beautiful husband,” a change that sparked cheers in the crowd.
Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan also joined Rodrigo onstage for several songs during her headlining set. The Canadian musician, who originally hails from Halifax, created the wildly successful all-women festival in 1997 at a time when filling a lineup with just women seemed like a fantasy.
“She was actually the first person I called when I started thinking about doing this,” Rodrigo said of McLachlan at a Friday news conference.
“At the time of Lilith Fair, women were told that they couldn’t lead a festival … and those women proved everyone wrong.”
Rodrigo said the name “Daisy Chain” was inspired by the idea of individual parts coming together “to create something strong and unbreakable.”
The concert comes at a time when reproductive rights are under attack in the U.S. Since the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022, which ended the federal right to abortion, reproductive rights have been dismantled in many states.
U.S. President Donald Trump is currently attempting to overhaul the nation’s only federally funded family planning program — which allows clinics to provide birth control, treat sexually transmitted infections and provide other non-abortion sexual health services to low-income Americans — to force providers to align their programs with his administration’s priorities.
This means providers would have to end diversity programs, cease offering gender-affirming care to transgender patients and discourage contraception, or run the risk of losing this federal funding. More than 20 states filed to sue his administration last week over the changes.
Rodrigo said Friday that while “it’s easy to be discouraged by all of the sadness and regression of women’s rights in our world today,” the artists and activists who joined her for Daisy Chain Fields give her hope.
Benefit concerts are a common way to raise funds for everything from refugee relief to health-care support. After fires swept through Los Angeles, a FireAid concert in January 2025 featuring more than 30 artists raised an estimated $100 million US, while a virtual benefit concert organized by Lady Gaga in 2020 for health-care workers and COVID-19 relief raised $127.9 million US.
‘Best festival ever’
A lineup of 14 artists, including Mitski, Santigold, The Breeders and Eli, dazzled the packed crowd. English singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri told the audience it was the “best day of my life,” at the end of her performance. During her set, Doechii appeared in full pink body paint, alongside similarly painted dancers.
The event featured more than just music. Attendees could explore and participate in multiple art installations, including a LEGO mural and an exhibition tracing the Riot Grrrl activist movement from the early 1990s to now.
Artist activist group Guerrilla Girls, best known for donning gorilla masks to create anonymous feminist art, provided a set of giant chalkboards which, by the end of the day, were covered in messages calling for the protection of trans youth, championing women and decrying AI and capitalism, among other sentiments.
Festivalgoers tied wishes to a tree in an installation designed by Yoko Ono. A neon pink billboard designed by visual artist Jenny Holzer declared, “in a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy.”
It was “a very wholesome vibe,” according to Chase Martinez.
Martinez, a digital creator from Toronto, told CBC News that despite the sweltering heat — Irvine reached temperatures upwards of 33 C on Saturday — it was the “best festival ever.”
One of her highlights was the Daisy Chain Reaction philanthropy village, where each non-profit had representatives on hand to teach attendees about their work.
“Everyone was there for a good cause, and so many people were complimenting each other and helping each other out,” Martinez wrote in an email.
“It felt amazing to be part of history like this knowing that we are in such a divisive & critical time for women’s rights,” Martinez writing, adding that it “felt really special” to know she’d contributed to the millions of dollars raised while getting to see her favourite artists.
The festival’s non-profit partners say they felt the love.
“At a time when decisions about our bodies, our health, our safety and our futures are being made for us not by us, a day built around care and community is its own kind of statement,” Sonya Passi, founder of FreeFrom, a survivor-led organization tacking gender-based violence, said in a statement.
The Center for Reproductive Rights shared in an Instagram post on Monday that they were still “starry-eyed” after the festival.
“Saturday proved: our movement and our community is stronger than ever and we will NEVER be divided.”
