LOS ANGELES -- Daisy Chain Fields arrived on a sweltering summer Saturday, plopped in the middle of Irvine’s suede hills, inside Orange County lines. The festival, hosted by Olivia Rodrigo at the Great Park, was a spiritual successor to Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair of the late ‘90s, born out of frustration with promoters and radio stations that refused to play two female artists in a row.

Like McLachlan’s event, Daisy Chain Fields boasted an all-female lineup, featuring some of the most coveted names in the contemporary music scene. The festival also gave a nod to some of the industry’s women pioneers, such as Bikini Kill and Garbage.

Anticipation for the festival was high after Rodrigo unveiled it in late June, with tickets selling out just 30 minutes after release. This translated directly onto the grounds, which were swarmed by 45,000 attendees, comprising teenage girls, moms, dads and everyone in between.

The event raised $10 million to benefit 10 girl- and women-focused nonprofit organizations, all of which made an appearance on stage before each artist’s set. Each musician on the lineup performed for free.

As the sun went down and Rodrigo took the stage, she announced that proceeds had been 100% matched by billionaire and philanthropist Melinda French Gates, bringing total donations to $20 million.

The Times was on site to witness the festival in all its glory, amid astounding 94 degree heat and an unwavering, tangible electricity among fans. Here is our recap of the best moments from the festival. —Julius Miller

Livies get loud on the Metrolink

The 2 p.m. Metrolink train from Union Station in L.A. to Orange County was absolutely mobbed with Livies (a.k.a. Olivia Rodrigo fans) on Saturday. For such a car-brained region, it was sweet to see public transit packed with young fans in festival regalia, making the grind to Irvine more sane and green. Let’s have this vibe for every major SoCal festival (including the car-free Ocean Way next month). Yet, for new train fans, a gentle reminder: one spirited round of singing “Get Him Back!” as you’re climbing onboard? Endearing, a delight for all. Keeping it up for an hour, next to civilian commuters who looked ready to climb onto the tracks themselves by Buena Park? Maybe save that for the pit. —August Brown

Devon Again felt so lucky that she gets to know you

25-year-old alt-pop princess Devon Again was a last-minute addition to the Daisy Chain Fields bill, replacing global girl group Katseye, who pulled out of the festival on Thursday due to a member’s ankle injury. Luckily, Devon Again, a personal friend of Rodrigo who will open for her tour starting in November, was there to answer Rodrigo’s call with a resounding “Duh, b—! Obviously I want to do it!” as she relayed to the Saturday afternoon crowd. Though Katseye’s presence was felt — members Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel and Yoonchae Jeong took the stage to introduce nonprofit partner Baby2Baby before the set, and Devon Again’s drummer wore a Katseye shirt in tribute — Devon Again’s self-confessed impostor syndrome was misplaced. With a rollicking mix of high-energy country twang, twisty ballads and production-heavy pop hits bolstered by her crisp belt, she made the stage her own. —Eloise Rollins-Fife

Die Spitz dives into a great early set

The set began with a five-minute delay due to technical issues, during which bassist Kate Halter — impressively — performed several handstands to pass the time. By 1:45 p.m., the band was ready to go, with frontwoman Ellie Livingston kicking off the performance. Draped in a torn white skirt and black fishnet gloves to complement, she wailed “I hate when girls die.”

Die Spitz’s set felt like the epitome of what Daisy Chain was all about. The band members took turns strutting around stage and acknowledging, “I know it’s f— hot!” But that didn’t stop the crowd from forming mosh pits on the left and right side of the yellow Marigold stage. At one point, Livingston even jumped in herself, to the despair of security and the delight of fans. —JM

Santigold’s set was worth fighting for

Santigold’s eclectic, genre-defying sound may be a hallmark of the “indie sleaze” era, but her standout midday Daisy Chain set proved she has plenty of staying power in 2026. Dressed in all white and flanked by a pair of straight-faced dancers in futuristic sunglasses, the 49-year-old artist performed back-to-back hits like “Run the Road” and “L.E.S. Artistes” to a crowd ready to dance the pain away. She even brought a handful of fans onstage — mostly, adorably, children — for a follow-along dance contest during “Unstoppable,” with a winner determined by cheers. Wrapping up the set with “Disparate Youth,” Santigold reminded the audience to keep believing in “a life worth fighting for.” –ERF

Bikini Kill double dares Daisy Chain crowd to keep fighting the power

“This government hates us and wants us dead,” proclaimed punk icon and Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna: a critical guiding light for Olivia Rodrigo’s feminist consciousness, as well as that of thousands of Daisy Chain attendees on Saturday. Since the band’s inception in 1990, the OG riot grrrls of Bikini Kill made social justice the centripetal force of their furor — long before Daisy Chain Fields, and even its late ‘90s predecessor Lilith Fair. Powered by Tobi Vail on drums (and occasional vocals), Kathy Wilcox on bass and Sara Landeau on guitar, the electric Hanna buffered classic songs like “Double Dare Ya” and “Feels Blind” with parables from her own revolutionary life — much of which she spent fighting back against objectification from men. Dudes in Saturday’s crowd got a special directive: “You guys gotta talk to your friends [about misogyny],” said Hanna. “[Women] are not gonna stop this on our own!” Sealed with a kiss and delivered with a snarl, the band closed its rip-roaring set with the anthemic battle cry of “Rebel Girl,” and were flanked onstage by a few lucky young fans. —Suzy Exposito

Mitski brought melodrama and musical magic

Whether you’ve been rocking with Mitski since the “Lush” days or discovered her music via pandemic-era Tik Tok, when industrial ballads like “Washing Machine Heart” unexpectedly popped off, there’s no denying her captivating stage presence — not to mention her stunning vocals. Longtime fans may have wished for a few more of the hits (no “Your Best American Girl” after the recent “Puberty 2” 10th anniversary re-release was a surprise), but indie music’s favorite sad-woman still brought her A-game to the Dandelion Stage, incorporating her signature “Butoh” performance style — a form of avant-garde Japanese dance-theatre — underscored by a backdrop of 1940s melodramas. During her set she implored Rodrigo to make the festival an annual tradition. “When do you get to be the first anything anymore?” she said. “For the rest of our lives, we could be like, ‘I’m OG DCF.” – ERF

The Breeders deliver ‘Last Splash’ classics

Hand it to Kim Deal: As one of the OGs on the bill at Daisy Chain Fields, the Breeders frontwoman used her band’s performance to shout out an even earlier pathbreaker by wearing an old Shirley Chisholm campaign T-shirt featuring the first Black congresswoman’s slogan of “Unbought and unbossed.” Deal and her bandmates (including her twin sister Kelley) drew deeply from their classic 1993 “Last Splash” LP, loping through the country-ish “Drivin’ on 9,” chugging on a fuzzed-out “Saints” and pricking up Gen Z ears with the perennially TikTok’d “Cannonball.” — Mikael Wood

Doechii does it for the girls

Under the hot afternoon sun, Grammy award-winning rapper Doechii celebrated all things girls in her typical over-the-top fashion. She and her dancers arrived onstage painted in hot pink, the swamp princess’ hair fashioned into high pigtails. A dance breakdown to a hardcore take on Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” introduced the set, and though she fed fans by performing some of her most popular singles — a version of “Anxiety” that morphed into a cover of the original sample “Somebody I Used to Know” by Gotye, “Alter Ego” and tracks like “Nissan Altima” and “Boiled Peanuts” from her 2024 album “Alligator Bites Never Heal” — she also reminded festivalgoers of the influential Black women artists who came before her — Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Beyoncé — by mixing their iconic songs into hers. Glowing magenta, she twirled above what looked to be a rising river, a physical representation of the swirling, engulfing thoughts that anxiety can provoke as she performed the song by the same name. And just to ensure there was zero confusion, the Florida rapper ended her set by simply stating: “We do this for the girls, we do this for the gays and we do this for trans women.” —Danielle Dorsey

Garbage gives grunge power to Gen Z

With its blend of serrated alt-rock guitars and sleek machine rhythms, Garbage always sounded a little ahead of its time when the band broke out in the post-grunge mid-’90s. But as frontwoman Shirley Manson evoked an age of digital surveillance and pharmacological dependence in “I Think I’m Paranoid” — one of the era’s great snarling pop singles — what you realized is that history had finally caught up with the band. — MW

Chappell Roan reigns with a hit-heavy set

It’s funny to think that Chappell Roan has only really been in the American music scene for the past six years, with just one studio album to her name.

Roan appeared from the back of stage, revealing her leather, periwinkle stewardess outfit and red mod bob — an apparent nod to Luc Besson’s 1997 film “The Fifth Element.” Naturally, the crowd roared as she dove bob-first into “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.” She’d occasionally crouch down to take a sip from her water bottle, which matched her ensemble.

Roan looked especially happy to be there, happily performing for free and her set did not disappoint.

“Only the hits today,” she said, smiling. “Only the hits.” —JM

Not for Radio crank up the volume

Just after sundown, the Marías’ enigmatic leading lady, María Zardoya, emerged to perform songs from her nocturne solo project, Not for Radio. Circled by a verdant reproduction of an enchanted forest, and dressed in a black swan-like two-piece by Ann Demeulemeester, Zardoya held the audience captive with her purring soprano and vampy stare. But make no mistake: by dialing up their otherwise elegant chamber pop with a little extra crunch and distortion, the players of Not for Radio came ready to rock out with the Daisy Chain crowd. It was during a performance of the new track “Comet,” which has only been recorded live thus far, that Zardoya bewitched fans into head-banging along with her. —SE

Olivia Rodrigo does duets with her idols

Rodrigo’s enduring virtue as a pop star is being a great fan first. The job requires commanding attention and devotion for yourself, but she’s never been shy about situating herself in the long arc of women who came before (and after) her, or just being moon-eyed to live inside her favorite songs with her heroes onstage. For her Daisy Chain Fields closing set, she dueted with generations of women that shaped her sense of what’s possible in music — Stevie Nicks for a gorgeous “Landslide,” and a surprise Alanis Morissette cameo for “Ironic” that felt like girl-gang karaoke night at its finest. She joined Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan— a specific inspiration for this festival — for “Building a Mystery” and a deeply tender “Angel.” Even Rodrigo’s backing band, full of absolutely shredding women instrumentalists, played beside her on equal footing for exquisitely tasteful, post-punky revisions of songs across her three albums. The boys in the crowd got a brief chance to growl in the lead on “Expectations,” but here they were just allies — the headline act was Rodrigo’s talent framed as a gift received from other women, and given again to the young fans on the field. —AB

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