ANNIE BARTOLOME / ARTS & CULTURE WRITER

Joyful.  That was the first  word that USD senior Molly  Marley thought of when she  stepped  onto the grounds of Olivia Rodrigos’s  inaugural  Daisy Chain Fields Music  Festival. The sweltering  California air had  already  surpassed an agonizing  90  degrees, but as  she  looked around at the faces that made up the audience  and the  women on  stage, she  knew that  she was  witnessing  something exceptional. 

A 2025 Live Nation report  found that the market for  live  music and  concerts has  grown rapidly in  the last few years. Music  festivals in particular  have been  increasing in popularity, but  Daisy Chain Fields was a standout for one simple reason: 100% of its proceeds  went to nonprofit organizations supporting women and girls. Marley was moved to be a part of  the event.

“I think it was really special,” Marley recalled. “It was genuinely 98% women of all ages. There were some kids and there were some older people … You just couldn’t have a bad time with all   the   people  there.  Everyone just made everyone happier.”

The 23-year-old pop star   announced  the     festival  via   Instagram on June 22, 2026.

“Truly never felt more excited to share a piece of news with you all,” Rodrigo wrote. “I firmly believe that joy, community, and music can be the drivers of meaningful change and I’m hopeful this festival will be just that.”

Rolling Stone reported that it took just 30 minutes for the event to sell out completely. It was clear that fans weren’t just excited to see the diverse lineup of performers, but that they were also excited to support what the event represented.

The festival featured an all-women lineup, spotlighting artists like Chappell Roan, Doechii and Bikini Kill among others. Special  guest   Sarah  McLachlan joined Rodrigo on stage during her headline set to sing her song “Angel” in a dedication to Dolly Parton.

“[She was] the biggest philanthropist in the history of country music,” McLachlan said.

Renowned singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks also joined the stage and closed out the festival with a duet of “Landslide”  alongside  Rodrigo.

  USD senior Keira Dooley reflected on being in the crowd, witnessing this moment.

“During ‘Landslide,’ I looked around and genuinely everyone was crying… tears just streaming down their faces,” Dooley recalled. “We got to see someone finishing their career and someone just starting their career talking about growing up … everyone loved it.”

USD senior Justine Simons shared her thoughts on the all-woman lineup and the philanthropic focus.

“I was scared to see how people were going to react online because I knew that people would be 10 times more critical,” Simons said. “But what I was seeing online was  people  saying  ‘this is what happens when you let women run things, they run well,’ and that was really cool.”

Temperatures in Irvine that day hit upwards of 95 degrees, leaving many fans concerned with issues of safety. Festival organizers stated that hydration stations, misters and cooling tents would be stationed around the venue in an attempt to mitigate the high temperatures. The city of Irvine issued an extreme heat warning before the festival began, but some fans think that despite warnings and cooling efforts, the high temperatures had significant impacts on their experience at the festival. Dooley shared her experience with the extreme heat.

“It was so hot, so we didn’t get to see a lot of things which I was kind of sad about,” Dooley recalled. “We ran to  go get the merch and then I was like ‘wait I’m going to faint, I need to go lie down…. It was so hot that all of us were sharing fans, and it was just, I guess, very supportive.”

Before the festival had even begun, Rodrigo announced that they had already raised $10 million to be donated across 10 organizations supporting women and girls. Among these organizations were Baby2Baby, Planned Parenthood, Black Mamas Matter Alliance and John Hopkins   Center  for  Indigenous Health. Before her headline set, Rodrigo was joined on stage by philanthropist Melinda French Gates, who pledged to match every dollar raised so far, bringing the total to $20 million.

Simons serves as her sorority’s co-vice president of panhellenic affairs, where she plans and executes all of their philanthropy events. She discussed the excitement she felt at the amount of money Rodrigo raised.

“I was surprised and so glad to see so many artists show up and not look for any monetary compensation,” Simons shared. “It is expensive to put these things on … You need to have the money first to run that event. They did such a good job for it being their first festival. I think that Daisy Chain Fields showed how when women come together, we are so powerful. It’s just amazing to see.”

USD sophomore Caleb Montilla did not know much about Rodrigo until Daisy Chain Fields. He discussed his thoughts after hearing about the festival for the first time.

“For someone as young as her to achieve something like this… I think it’s really impressive,” Montilla said. “That’s a really great thing she did.”

Daisy Chain Fields has concluded its 2026 run, but it may not be the end of the fun, feminine and flower-filled festival. Rodrigo might have thoughts of continuing the festival in the future. “See you next year!” she cheered as she and Nicks walked off stage arm in arm.