Just over a month after the final encore echoed across Orange County Great Park, the impact of Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival continues to resonate with students at Episcopal Academy and across the country. Created as a modern version of Sarah McLachlan’s famous 1990s Lilith Fair, the sold-out festival, organized with the intention of raising awareness and money for issues regarding reproductive rights, gender equity, and maternal health, brought a line-up of all-female artists, both headliners and new stars. The festival raised $20 million after philanthropist Melinda French Gates matched the initial $10 million total, all donated to organizations supporting women.
Among the performers were infamous rock icons like Stevie Nicks, Bikini Kill, and Garbage, as well as current chart-toppers including Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, and Rodrigo herself. Owing to this incredible lineup, all 45,000 tickets sold out in under half an hour, making this one of the most anticipated events of the year. Even so, the festival was enticing for reasons apart from the music: it also displayed how unifying activism can be, particularly as it pertains to inspiring the youth.
For students across EA’s campus, the festival stood out for the way it connected bygone stars with today’s generation of young female artists.
Penelope Melvin ’30 feels inspired by how Rodrigo utilized music history to unite female artists. “I think the festival is so cool because all the women artists back then [at Lilith Fair] bonded together to create this festival to support women,” Melvin notes. “I love how Olivia Rodrigo, who many girls look up to right now, is creating her own modern-day festival that is just really inspiring.”
Melvin also points out how unique it was to see past music legends performing alongside current pop stars. “These old stars mixed with rising stars—like Stevie Nicks and Chappell Roan–and having it be all women, it just feels so important,” she says.
In addition to building a bridge between generations of female artists, the event demonstrated how celebrities can use social media platforms to educate their audience on social issues. The Daisy Chain Fields was extremely significant for women’s rights, and Colton Frese ’29 even notes that events like these “help fight back against the patriarchy, and it really advocates for women.”
Similarly, Isabel Ding ’27 emphasizes that beyond the financial success received, Rodrigo used her following to highlight important nonprofit work. “Besides raising a lot of money, it also increases a lot of publicity and news regarding these charities,” Ding explains. “Olivia Rodrigo was able to use her fan base to promote them more, like on her Instagram. Through festivals like this, you can take a concept that a lot of people care about and use it to promote charities and non-profits that can affect real people’s lives.”
Kelly Chan ’29 also discusses the impact and change that Daisy Chain Fields brought to the world, saying, “Daisy Chain Fields shows that even in a world where a lot of fields are still mostly male-dominated, and the music industry is still heavily male-dominated, women have enough power. We have the power in the world to be able to make this big of a change and have such a big impact on so many people’s lives.” The Daisy Chain Fields supported women’s voices being heard and valued by existing, but also through its generous donations.
Photo courtesy of NPR
Melvin emphasizes why having major role models advocate for protections matter to young adults and students, and how the festival’s donations addressed specific issues, “Legal defense is a big one. They’re all really important, and healthcare should be provided to every woman. Legal counsel is really important for women to get the support they need to fight their battles.”
The Daisy Chain Fields festival proves to be a prime example of how major artists can impact youth activism and incite meaningful change through their work. By directing the public’s attention towards legal counsel, healthcare access, and charity work for women and girls, Rodrigo showcases that music can, and should,drive change, while also proving what youth-driven activism can achieve.