The Daisy Chain Fields music festival, which played in Great Park in Irvine, California on Aug. 29, raised $20M for 10 different foundations in just two months. Olivia Rodrigo, who announced the festival in June 2026, donated all net proceeds from both ticket sales and fan donations to Olivia’s Daisy Chain Fields Fund — a collection of organizations “advancing and advocating for women and girls.”
The name of the festival itself came from the natural, unbreakable bond that women have with one another. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rodrigo and Sarah McLachlan sat down together for the first time to discuss their unique experiences as leaders of these women-centric festivals. Rodrigo described the lineup for Daisy Chain as a dream lineup for a concert she would want to see herself: “I was so happy that everyone was as excited as I was about seeing it.” And fans were very excited — the 45K tickets for the festival sold out within 30 minutes of being released on June 24.
The all-women lineup included Bikini Kill, Garbage, The Breeders, Devon Again, Not For Radio, Eli, Santigold, Die Spitz, Mitski, Quiet Light, Rachel Chinouriri, Chappell Roan, Doechii, and Olivia Rodrigo. Special guests included McLachlan and Stevie Nicks, who both performed at Lilith Fair in the ‘90s and performed alongside Rodrigo on the night of the festival.
From the summers of 1997 to 1999, singer-songwriter McLachlan headlined and co-founded Lilith Fair: “a celebration of women in music.” Lilith, as McLachlan explained to Vanity Fair, did come from the name of Adam’s first wife in Jewish folklore, and “fair” for fairness, “equality and inclusivity.” Women frequently received more pushback from organizers when hoping to headline or even perform in larger festivals, claiming their performance was less marketable. McLachlan recalled when she was turned down by radio stations who refused to have more than a few female artists in their rotation at a time, if they allowed that many.
McLachlan proved any critic making claims against this matriarchal festival wrong, performing alongside 69 other female artists across 37 tour dates in North America. Performers included Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Joan Osborne, and Tracy Bonham. In later years, Queen Latfiah, Sinéad O’Connor, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and Tracy Chapman joined the iconic lineup.
When asked if she would ever bring Lilith Fair back, which has been brought up in a myriad of interviews, McLachlan said that the idea “needs someone of this generation who is successful now, who can breathe new life into it, and that’s exactly what you’re doing,” she said to Rodrigo. Daisy Chain Fields worked for the same reason Lilith Fair did — they gave back to the same women who were looking to these artists for inspiration.
“Deep down, people just really want to help,” said Rodrigo to Rolling Stone. “I was so heartened by the way that everyone just wanted to do something good, and give back, and support one another.”
While it has not been confirmed whether or not Daisy Chain Fields will return next summer, New York City has its own mini-festival returning for its third run. Girl Noise is hosted by singer-songwriter Simone, who wanted to create “a music festival 4 girls by girls.” The first show of the concert series was held on June 8 of last year, with all proceeds donated to Girl Be Heard, a theater company that envisions “a world where every girl, young woman, and gender-expansive youth is valued and encouraged to be a leader and changemaker.”
Girl Noise will take to the Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 4, featuring the artists Girlpuppy, Double Standard, Sabrina Song, Simone, and more. This year’s proceeds will go to The Brave House, “a community of support for young immigrant and refugee women and gender-expansive youth, ages 16-24, in New York City, with a focus on survivors of gender-based violence.”
If any of these festivals show us anything, it’s that women want to help. They recognize the importance of community and seek to create an even more inclusive one. They are insisting their voices be heard, if for no reason other than to be heard by those who need them. In the words of Stevie Nicks, “never break the chain.”