What does girlhood really mean for Daisy Chain Fields attendees?
We asked girls and women at the Daisy Chain Fields Festival what girlhood means to them.
I watched two women at Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields hold hands and twirl each other during one of Mitski’s songs.
I watched mothers — or aunts, or perhaps a beloved family friend — enjoy sets with little girls in tow.
I watched women cheer for each other. They cheered for performer Eli as she hit whistle notes. For Doechii’s dancing. For Olivia Rodrigo. Period.
Now that the sun has set on Rodrigo’s festival celebrating women in music (until next year, as Rodrigo hinted), I’m reflecting on the top moments at the Aug. 29 event in Irvine that demonstrated women celebrating women, from Rodrigo’s star-studded headlining set to an impressive donation to many women-centric organizations.
Sarah McLachlan dedicates song to Dolly Parton
Sarah McLachlan, founder of the Lilith Fair tour that inspired Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain, dedicated her tear-jerker of a song “Angel” to Dolly Parton, the legendary country singer, actor and philanthropist who died Aug 25.
“I want to dedicate this song tonight to the OG patriarch, beautiful goddess of country music,” McLachlan said. “The biggest philanthropist in the history of country music.”
Stevie Nicks, Mitski and more celebrate Olivia Rodrigo
Stevie Nicks, one of Rodrigo’s three special guests for the night, gave the singer her flowers after their duet of “Landslide” that closed out the evening.
Nicks called the “Deja Vu” singer “very special” and encouraged people to recognize what Rodrigo had accomplished with the event.
“I’m somewhat awestruck that she could do all this because it’s so hard,” Nicks said. “You have no idea putting something together with all these people. Everything. And she’s done it with this grace and this crazy, crazy energy she has.”
But the love for Rodrigo didn’t begin there.
Earlier in the day, performers Doechii, Eli, Mitski and Santigold all expressed support for Rodrigo for putting on the Daisy Chain Fields music festival.
“I feel like we should do this every year,” Mitski said during her set at the Dandelion Stage and called the festival “such a good idea.”
“Olivia Rodrigo called me on my cellphone personally, and was like, ‘Will you do this?’” Mitski recalled.
“And I was like, ‘Um, OK, Olivia Rodrigo. Sure. Big festival, benefiting women and girls? I guess I’ll find time,’” she said.
Rodrigo also expressed her gratitude for every artist on the lineup.
“I feel so lucky to be a part of a musical community that supports each other and stands up for what’s right,” she said. “The fact that they took the time out of their insanely busy schedules to come and do this festival for free is something I’m so grateful for.”
A festival supporting women both in spirit and monetarily
Rodrigo previously announced that $10 million is being donated toward organizations supporting women’s health care and other causes as part of her first-ever Daisy Chain Fields music festival. But that total grew, Rodrigo announced before her headlining set.
Rodrigo said that Melinda French Gates has pledged to double every dollar made at the festival, bringing the grand total of funds donated to $20 million.
“What I love about you is that you know that the real power is not up here on stage, it’s with everybody there,” Gates said on stage with Rodrigo. “All of you.”
Net proceeds for the music festival, which celebrates women in music, will go toward 10 nonprofit organizations, the festival had previously announced. That includes the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the National Women’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood.
“I really believe that giving women the tools to decide their own futures and live healthy lives free from violence and discrimination is the most effective tool we have at changing the world for the better,” Rodrigo said.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.