Following the high of releasing a new album, Olivia Rodrigo created an all-woman lineup festival called Daisy Chain Fields. The event took place at Great Park, Irvine on August 29, 2026. The lineup dropped with big names like Chappel Roan, Mitski, and Katseye who later dropped out before the festival took place.
While Katseye may have dropped out, this feminist festival featured 14 other main acts and talked politics all day long. From sharing ICE protest stickers, to embracing Palestinian dresses, light was shined on political and global issues. Olivia Rodrigo’s decision to bring back an all-women’s festival was a breath of fresh air for women, especially during times where politics seem to be against them, especially with abortion being a topic at the front of politics.
Beyond the year 2026, from 1997 to 1999 a similar festival called the Lilith Festival inspired Daisy Chain Fields. Sarah McLachlan found this festival, also featuring an all-female lineup in protest of venues that wouldn’t let two women artists play back to back. It also donated millions of dollars towards nonprofits to help women, similar to Daisy Chain.
All proceeds gained from Daisy Chain Fields were donated to organizations, as well as having these non profits present and represented at the event. Some of the organizations included Planned Parenthood which had been recently defunded, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance which specifically provides support for black mothers and families, and eight others. While the proceeds could have gone to any other type of non-profits, focusing on women-centered non-profits is a direct challenge to the political climate we have currently with the growing patriarchy. Even though so many other things were going on there was still space for 10 different non profit organizations that all helped women in some way like medically, financially, and legally.
The festival’s main focus was obviously the artists performing, but Olivia took it a step further and added nine art installations plus exhibitions that showcase various women’s art. This included a “Wish Tree Garden”, “The Art of Behaving Badly”, a Lego installation, and more. This added experience featured artists like Ariel Zana, Guerrilla Girls, Yoko Ono, and many others.
This festival was created by women to celebrate women and their cultural impact on art. It became a safe space for women to show their creativity.
The festival also featured many collabs with brands to create beautiful backdrops and rest stops for festival goers. You can always tell when something is curated to a woman’s taste. Daisy Chain Fields is especially made as a love letter to women.
The festival received a lot of praise, especially on how it shouted out non profits and had them present, their art installations, performances, and just the overall vibe. While Daisy Chain Fields did all of this right, there were a few things people had to comment about.
“The venue was NOT prepared for the condition. Not enough food vendors with 1-2 hr waits and if you wanted cold water it was an hour line. Not enough shaded areas unless you were VIP.” said user @ada.tj on tiktok.
“Increasing volume of staff, hydration stations, food trucks, bathrooms, and trash bag turnover and trash bag locations,” user @aimlesssouls on reddit agrees.
They experienced long lines for hydration, food, and the bathroom, even saying things that could be improved on,
Overall criticisms agree that there should have been more staff, infrastructure, and especially improvements on the parking situation as many people waited hours just to be able to leave.
While there were plenty of criticisms people had, the Daisy Chain Fields Festival is more than just a music festival, it is a declaration of love and peace towards femininity and the world. Each artist there had something political to say about the current times, like speaking out against ice and Palestine. Olivia Rodrigo herself wore a beautiful dress, but it was more than a fashion statement, she wore a dress by a Palestinian brand. That’s what the festival is really about, standing with the people who you care for, Olivia showed to thousands of people how she stood with Gaza.
Could all women festivals be the bridge that depletes the gap between femininity in art? If it’s not, it’s enough to say it bridges the gap many women feel in their own creative space.
By Aileen Zuniga, Staff Writer