The festival, a real spiritual successor to Lilith Fair, brought an all-female lineup of top artists to California and raised a cool $10 million for 10 nonprofits focused on issues from reproductive rights to domestic violence.
Rodrigo described her vision as “flower child meets riot grrrl” and even called Lilith Fair creator Sarah McLachlan early in the planning process.
Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival was about so much more than an incredible day of music. It became a powerful celebration of women, girls and the importance of using your voice to create change.
The sold-out Irvine festival raised an incredible $10 million for 10 nonprofit organizations supporting women and girls. Then came an extraordinary surprise: philanthropist Melinda French Gates joined Rodrigo onstage and pledged to match the $10 million, bringing the total to an astonishing $20 million.
The money will be divided equally among organizations working on issues including reproductive health and rights, maternal health, economic security, workplace protections and gender equity. Beneficiaries include Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Institute for Reproductive Health and the National Women’s Law Center.
But perhaps just as important as the money was the awareness Daisy Chain created. Fans had opportunities to learn directly about the organizations and the women and girls they serve, turning a music festival into a place for education, conversation and action.
Rodrigo showed what can happen when a young artist uses her enormous platform for something bigger than herself—and Melinda French Gates helped make that impact twice as powerful.