Great Park residents, get ready. Olivia Rodrigo and a star-studded lineup of other artists, along with at least 45,000 fans, are headed to your backyards for Daisy Chain Fields.
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The music festival will go live in Irvine Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. atop a portion of the Great Park. Rodrigo, as well as Chappell Roan, Doechii, Garbage, Katseye, Mitski, Stevie Nicks, among others, are expected to perform.
The music is taking center stage, but the Great Park’s biggest event to date might inspire some practical questions for locals. Traffic? Closures? Noise? We’ve got details.
Q. City officials are expecting some 45,000 fans and about 5,000 staffers to attend the sold-out festival — they’ll be driving, shuttling, hitching rides, biking and walking in. So, of course, there will be some slowdowns on popular routes, including Great Park Boulevard and Ridge Valley. How can you skip the traffic?
A. Grab that city-issued Dash Pass ahead of time.
The Dash Pass for Great Park residents — either a rearview mirror hanging tag or a placard on the dashboard — will let Irvine police officers posted at traffic barricades know that you’re allowed entry into otherwise closed-off lanes and streets. The Dash Pass does not exempt drivers from posted parking rules.
City officials are encouraging residents to secure passes ahead of time by filling out a form and verifying their local residency — either a valid ID, a current utility bill or a current lease agreement can serve as proof of residency — at daisychainfields.com. You also can verify in-person by presenting one of those documents at the Dash Pass pick-up, at Great Park Lot 0 (300 Corsair, in Irvine; follow signs pointing to the box office) from Wednesday Aug. 26 through Friday Aug. 28 between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m..
“We’re trying to make this as easy as possible where folks can get to the box office and somebody will get them their Dash Pass and then off they go,” said Melissa Haley, Irvine’s Director of Communications and Engagement.
If you can’t nab a pass during those hours, you can confirm your residency online ahead of time and have another person present your verification documents at the box office. You also can ask a neighbor to grab an extra pass for you. There might even be some last-minute Dash Passes available on the day of the festival; just ask the officer at your traffic barricade if they have any extras.
The city is bracing for traffic, Haley said, adding “like Sofi Stadium, like Stagecoach, it’s going to be no different than any other large-scale event where 45,000 people come.”
Last year, the city hosted a Fourth of July celebration at the Great Park, anticipating a crowd of about 25,000. Instead, Haley said, “40,000 showed up and created that traffic nightmare.”
“That was a bunch of lessons learned for us,” Haley said. “So, going into this, we need to pay for parking, we need to shut these roads down. We need to engage the residents in the community.”
On Saturday, Aug. 29, only area residents displaying their Dash Passes will have access to the following streets:
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- Ridge Valley and Carlow
- Ridge Valley and Pinehurst
- Ridge Valley and Decora
- Ridge Valley and Shell
- Ridge Valley and Magnet
- Ridge Valley and Cadence
- Ridge Valley and Paramount
- Ridge Valley and Benchmark
- Cadence and Terrapin
- Cadence and Beacon
- Terrapin and Hornet
- Benchmark and Follyhatch
- Benchmark and Cultivate
- Benchmark and Beacon
- Benchmark and Radial
- Bosque and Cadence
- Bosque and Stellar
- Bosque and Magnet
- Hornet and Beacon
- Hornet and Terrapin
- Great Park Blvd and Terrapin
- Great Park Blvd and Beacon
- Sand Canyon Ave and Marine Way
Q. Daisy Chain Fields will span areas across Great Park, including multiple soccer fields, Hangar 244, the Palm Arts Complex and the existing Great Park Live amphitheater, which will be reimagined into the Marigold Stage. What will be closed to the public?
A. During the event, the entire Great Park will be open only to festival goers. That includes Great Park Ice and Wild Rivers.
Officials also are closing the iconic Great Park orange balloon, the carousel, and the Visitors Center for more than a week, from Monday, Aug. 24 to Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Work are “taking the week before they build out the festival, all of their VIP areas and everything they’re doing,” Haley said. That work includes trucking in set ups for more than 50 food and drink vendors and raising the Dandelion main stage that will anchor the main crowds and Rodrigo’s 8:40 p.m. closing performance featuring an as-yet unannounced special guest.
“So, as we get closer, they’ll notice more and more build out. Fencing will start to go up right away,” Haley said, adding residents driving on the 133 and 5 Freeways will probably spot the Great Park orange balloon, which will be redecorated for the festival. “Watch for it the week of.”
There also will be road closures related to the construction. Parts of Marine Way and Skyhawk will be closed Friday, Aug. 28 from 8 p.m. to Sunday, Aug. 30 at 8 a.m.
And on festival day, parts of Marine Way, from Sand Canyon Avenue to Ridge Valley, and Bosque, from Great Park Boulevard to Hornet, will be closed.
Q. Lots of building. Lots of dismantling. And lots of people. Does that mean a lot of noise?
A. Most likely.
If you’re able to hear other performances at Great Park Live from where you’re at, you’ll probably hear the Daisy Chain Fields buzz. Festival officials also say you’ll hear some amplified sound during sound checks and performances, from Thurs. Aug. 27 to Saturday, Aug. 29. The music is supposed to stop around 10 p.m.
For local fans hoping to tune in to the music, proximity to festival grounds might be considered a coincidental win.