Olivia Rodrigo Built An All-Women Festival From Scratch And Raised $20 Million In One Day
Olivia Rodrigo announced Daisy Chain Fields, describing it as an all-women music festival inspired by Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair festivals of the 1990s, and on August 29 she delivered something that matched and arguably exceeded that inspiration. The festival took place at Great Park in Irvine, California, with a lineup that spanned generations and genres: Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Garbage, Santigold, Rachel Chinouriri, and others, with no overlapping performances between the two stages so that no attendee had to choose between artists. Stevie Nicks, Karen O, and Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan appeared as special guests. Every artist on the bill waived their performance fee, every sponsor signed onto a new festival with no proven track record, and every dollar raised went toward a philanthropy village on site where ten nonprofit partners worked directly with attendees throughout the day. Before Rodrigo took the stage for her headline set, she announced that the festival had raised ten million dollars for organizations supporting women and girls across the United States and globally, including Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center for Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Women's Law Center, and Planned Parenthood.
Then Melinda French Gates walked on stage. She told the crowd that what Daisy Chain Fields had set in motion would last far beyond a single night, and announced that she and her organization Pivotal Ventures would match the ten million dollar total dollar for dollar, bringing the overall sum raised to twenty million dollars in a single day. French Gates wrote on Instagram that she had been inspired by Rodrigo's vision and was proud to double what the community had already raised. Rodrigo told the crowd that Gates was one of the most inspiring women she had ever met and described her as generous, brave, and someone who has done so much good in the world. Rodrigo said the festival was about what can happen when people come together and use their collective power to support one another, and that she was grateful to every artist, sponsor, and audience member who helped make it possible. The twenty million dollars will be split equally among the ten nonprofit partners. Daisy Chain Fields raised in one afternoon the same amount that Lilith Fair raised across three years of touring. Rodrigo is 23 years old. She has already said there will be a second one.
