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What Brought 45,000 People to Daisy Chain Fields?
The Music Was Stellar, but Connection, Belonging and Women's Rights Were the Stars
By Janeane Bernstein
photo credit: @cloudyytots
photo credit: CHAPPELL ROAN_ DASISY CHAIN FIELDS_ANNA DOWNS
What makes 45,000 people travel to Irvine, California, to spend an entire day together at Daisy Chain Fields?
At Daisy Chain Fields, the answer seemed to be more than one thing.
It was Olivia Rodrigo.
It was an extraordinary lineup that brought together artists from different generations and musical worlds—and the possibility of seeing women who had shaped music decades ago sharing a stage with those shaping it now.
It was the mission.
As the lead singer of Garbage told me, “A night like this is very important … to know there is community and there is power in the galvanization of women all over the world.”
And it was the feeling that this was something you didn’t want to experience through someone else’s Instagram feed. You wanted to be there.
People traveled from across the country to Great Park in Irvine for the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival. They knew they would spend hours outside in Southern California in August. When temperatures climbed above 90 degrees, they stayed.
They moved between stages and gathered in spaces dedicated to community, creativity and the festival’s nonprofit partners. The lines to meet the organizations were huge—people weren’t simply there for the music. They wanted to connect, learn and support one another.
One woman summed up the feeling at the end of the night: “I have never felt so safe in a parking lot at the end of the night.”
And they kept showing up.
Why?
Because for many, this wasn’t simply a concert.
It was a moment they wanted to be part of.
And there was something else drawing people to Daisy Chain Fields: the person who created it.
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Olivia Rodrigo’s Bigger Mission
At just 23, Rodrigo is showing what it can look like to use a platform not simply to entertain, but to give back, create community and make a meaningful difference.
At the heart of Daisy Chain Fields was a simple idea: to make women and girls of all ages feel seen, heard and reminded that they are not alone.
The festival brought joy, community and creativity together with a larger purpose—using music to bring people together, spark curiosity and encourage action.
Rodrigo’s generosity was extraordinary. She announced that Daisy Chain Fields had already raised $10 million for its nonprofit partners, organizations working on behalf of women and girls.
Then came another remarkable moment.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Daisy Chain Fields
courtesy of Ambrosia.Healy@umusic.com | Daisychain@ledecompany.com
Melinda French Gates joined Rodrigo onstage and announced that she would match the $10 million, bringing the total to $20 million.
It was a powerful example of what can happen when generosity inspires more generosity.
One person gives. Another is inspired to give. One person creates a space for connection, and thousands become part of it.
Rodrigo also made room for other artists, generations, nonprofit organizations, activism, community and giving back.
That says something about the kind of artist—and the kind of person—she is.
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Walking through the festival grounds, I began to understand why people had come from so far away.
Women and girls of all ages were everywhere. Mothers and daughters walked together. Friends had traveled across the country. Women who had grown up with Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Alanis, Garbage and Sarah McLachlan stood alongside teenagers who had come to see Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and Doechii.
I found myself wondering how many of those mothers and daughters were experiencing their first concert together—and how many were introducing each other to the music they loved.
Maybe that was part of the reason people wanted to be there.
They weren’t just coming to see Daisy Chain Fields.
They wanted to belong to it.
For me, the festival was also a reminder that women and girls have rights—and that those rights matter. We cannot take them for granted.
That made the presence of the nonprofit organizations feel especially important. The lines to meet them were huge. People wanted to learn, connect, find resources and understand how they could be part of something bigger than themselves.
Daisy Chain Fields gave women and girls a place to celebrate who they are while reminding them that their voices, choices and futures matter.
Maybe that is part of the Daisy Chain Reaction, too:
Women reminding women and girls that we have each other—and that none of us has to stand alone.
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When Music Becomes a Bridge Between Generations
The lineup was stellar—and watching the audience respond to it was just as fascinating as watching the artists perform.
Bikini Kill brought the raw energy that helped define riot grrrl and feminist punk. The Breeders and Garbage carried decades of alternative-rock history onto the stage, while Mitski brought a more introspective energy.
Santigold, Rachel Chinouriri, Die Spitz, Quiet Light, Not For Radio, ELI, Doechii and Devon Again added even more musical voices and generations to the day. By 7:30 p.m., thousands of people were dancing and singing along as Chappell Roan led the crowd through her signature call-and-response moments. It was electric.
Women who had grown up with Bikini Kill, The Breeders and Garbage were singing along while younger fans experienced them for the first time.
You could come to Daisy Chain Fields because you loved Olivia Rodrigo and discover an artist your mother had loved decades earlier.
Or you could arrive with decades of musical history behind you and find yourself standing beside a teenager discovering your generation’s music for the first time.
The music wasn’t separating generations.
It was giving them something to share—and a reason to connect.
photo credit: NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE
_DAISY CHAIN FIELDS_ MAGGIE LONDON
More Than What Happened on the Stages
The intergenerational spirit extended throughout the festival grounds. Women and girls gathered at interactive spaces, explored Etsy’s Creative Village, played with style and self-expression at Depop’s Oasis, and connected with the festival’s ten nonprofit partners at Daisy Chain Reaction.
The line to enter Daisy Chain Reaction was huge. People were waiting to learn, ask questions and connect with organizations working on issues affecting women and girls. That stayed with me. The music brought people through the gates, but this was where the mission became tangible.
Across the grounds, vendors, artists and interactive experiences gave festivalgoers opportunities to create, discover and participate. The generations weren’t separated—they were moving through the same spaces, listening to one another and simply enjoying being there together.
Celebrity guests including Drew Barrymore, Emma Watson, Victoria Justice, Rachel Zegler, Melissa Auf der Maur and Mike Shinoda added to the sense that Daisy Chain Fields was becoming something bigger than a music festival. Melinda French Gates also joined Rodrigo onstage to announce her $10 million matching gift.
Daisy Chain Fields felt like a reminder that women’s rights, voices, choices and futures cannot be taken for granted—and that connection and community matter.
The Conversations Beyond the Festival
For me, one of the most rewarding parts of Daisy Chain Fields happened before I even arrived at Great Park.
I was fortunate to interview several of the festival’s nonprofit partners on my radio show, Get the Funk Out, on KUCI 88.9 FM at UC Irvine: Madeline Halperin Robinson of the Center for Reproductive Rights; Emily Escobar of Planned Parenthood; Naomi Giges Downey of Jhpiego; Uma Iyer of the National Women’s Law Center; and Dr. Melissa Walls of the Center for Indigenous Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Each brought a different perspective, but a common thread emerged: the issues affecting women and girls are deeply interconnected, and meaningful change requires more than awareness.
We talked about reproductive rights, health care, gender justice, Indigenous health and well-being, and the work these organizations are doing every day.
It was a fantastic conversation—and it won’t be the last.
The nonprofit partners will return to the show for follow-up conversations, allowing us to go deeper into their work and the issues they are addressing.
That feels very much in keeping with the spirit of Daisy Chain Fields.
The festival may be over. The conversation continues.
BREEDERS_DAISY CHAIN FIELDS_Romina Estrada
Then came Olivia Rodrigo’s headline performance—and with it, a series of full-circle moments.
Sarah McLachlan joined her onstage. I had seen McLachlan perform at Lilith Fair in the 1990s, so watching her share a stage created by Rodrigo felt like a bridge between generations of women in music.
Then came Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill was one of my anthems in the ’90s, and “You Learn” was a song that met me exactly where I was. Seeing Alanis perform with Olivia brought that musical history forward.
And then Stevie Nicks joined Rodrigo for “Landslide.”
I kept thinking about the mothers and daughters throughout the festival. Some may have grown up listening to Stevie, while their daughters were discovering her through Olivia. A song can belong to one generation and somehow become yours, too.
Sarah. Alanis. Stevie. Olivia.
Different generations, different moments in music history—but on that stage, they were connected.
And that connection was happening throughout the festival. Women who grew up with Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Garbage and Sarah McLachlan stood alongside teenagers who came to see Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Doechii and Mitski.
The music wasn’t separating generations. It was giving them something to share.
That, to me, was one of the most beautiful parts of Daisy Chain Fields.
The Daisy Chain Reaction
Daisy Chain Fields was ambitious, beautiful, blisteringly hot and, for a first-time festival, absolutely remarkable.
But what Olivia Rodrigo created went beyond a lineup. It was a place where mothers and daughters could share a song, where generations could discover one another’s music, and where strangers connected, sang and danced together with artists who have shaped generations.
Ultimately, the festival was a reminder of the power of human connection: music can bring strangers together, bridge generations and create a sense of belonging, safety and female empowerment.
Maybe that was the Daisy Chain Reaction:
One song leading to another.
One generation leading to another.
One connection creating the possibility for many more.
Perhaps the real power of Daisy Chain Fields was what people carried home with them—the feeling that we can stand beside one another, learn from one another, and remind each other:
You are seen.
You are heard.
You are not alone.
That’s more than a music festival.
That’s community. And hopefully, it’s only the beginning.
Artists Who Performed at Daisy Chain Fields
August 29, 2026 — Great Park, Irvine
The verified performers were:
Olivia Rodrigo
Chappell Roan
Doechii
Mitski
Garbage
Santigold
The Breeders
Bikini Kill
Rachel Chinouriri
Die Spitz
ELI
Quiet Light
Not For Radio
Devon Again
Special guests who joined Olivia Rodrigo during her headline set:
Sarah McLachlan
Alanis Morissette
Stevie Nicks
Note: KATSEYE was originally announced but withdrew before the festival because of an injury, and Karen O was originally announced as a special guest but did not perform; Alanis Morissette filled that guest slot. I could not independently verify a Daisy Chain Fields performer named “Trashy,” so I have not included that name in the verified lineup.
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