Olivia Rodrigo wows Daisy Chain Fields with Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan and more

In the end, Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival was already a success beyond founder Olivia Rodrigo’s wildest dreams before she sang a single note as its headliner at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Read more Iran’s supreme leader calls for Muslim unity against US and Israel, and other Mideast news

She’d announced on Friday that the festival would donate $10 million to the 10 non-profit organizations working on issues of importance for women and girls.

On Saturday, after thanking artists from Chappell Roan and Doechii to Mitski and Bikini Kill, all of whom performed without payment, Rodrigo revealed that donation had doubled to $20 million thanks to a matching gift of $10 million from Melinda French Gates.

“I really believe that giving women the tools to decide their own futures and live healthy lives free of violence and discrimination is the most effective tool we have at changing the world for the better,” Rodrigo said before the start of her set. “I don’t know many people who represent that idea more than Melinda French Gates.

“Melinda is one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met. She’s devoted her life to empowering women and girls that have otherwise been forgotten,” Rodrigo continued. “She’s generous and brave, and has done so much good in this world. And I’m totally floored because, as well as being in attendance here tonight, she’s pledged to double every dollar that we made here today.”

Gates joined Rodrigo as the 45,000 fans cheered for the philanthropist who cofounded the Gates Foundation with her ex-husband Bill Gates in 2000.

“What I love about you is that you know the real power is not up here on stage; it’s with everybody there, all of you,” Gates said. “When women and girls come together to dream and to lead, we change the world, and so long after the lights go down from this festival, the organizations doing this work will keep doing it because you all are here.

“So thank you for being here, and thank you, Olivia,” she added.

And with that, Rodrigo and her band jumped back into the show with an hour-and-40-minute set that mixed Rodrigo’s hits with duets with Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morrissette, and Stevie Nicks, three of the singer-songwriters whom Rodrigo has long acknowledged as inspirations and childhood idols.

GUIDE: Daisy Chain Fields Festival 2026

The crowd cheered and sang along as Rodrigo opened the show with “Drop Dead” and “Bad Idea, Right?” and continued to do so through her newly released “Serena Joy” and summer hit “Stupid Song.”

“I feel like I’m dreaming,” Rodrigo said at one point with the happiest of smiles. “You guys, this is the best day of my life. What the hell?”

As she brought out McLachlan she acknowledged the huge importance of McLachlan’s Lilith Fair in the ’90s, which like Daisy Chain Fields, featured an all-female lineup.

“Without Lilith Fair there would be no Daisy Chain,” Rodrigo said as McLachlan joined her for a pair of her own songs, “Building A Mystery” and “Angel,” the latter of which McLachlan dedicated to the late Dolly Parton with a nod to Parton’s own philanthropy.

After “Driver’s License,” the 2021 single that launched Rodrigo’s stardom, she told the crowd that Karen O, who was supposed to perform with her, had been called away by a personal emergency. In her place, Alanis Morrissette came out to duet on Morrissette’s hit “Ironic.”

“All-American Bitch” and “Deja Vu” brought the set to its final song, a gorgeous duet with Stevie Nicks on her Fleetwood Mac hit “Landslide,” accompanied by Nicks’ longtime guitarist Waddy Wachtel.

Read more NASA’s newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe

Daisy Chain Fields brings together music, community and creativity for a cause

The joy of this for Rodrigo was unmistakable in her smile, but Nicks, who at one point took Rodrigo’s hands to dance with her during the song, seemed equally taken by the 23-year-old woman who’d created Daisy Chain Fields.

“I’m somewhat awestruck that she can do all this because it’s so hard,” Nicks said as night and the day came to a close. “You have no idea. Putting something together with all these people, everything, and she’s done it with this grace and this crazy, crazy energy that she has.

“I told her, don’t ever give that up, and don’t ever let anybody change you or tell you don’t run around the stage,” Nicks continued. “So support her. Come and be a part of her women’s rights thing. We all will. And take her to your heart. I am.”

Rodrigo’s set was clearly the emotional highpoint of the day, but throughout the different performances, fans and artists alike seemed thrilled to be taking in a festival that Rodrigo, with a farewell of “See you next year!” clearly intends to bring back.

Fans flock to Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival in Irvine

With performances alternating between Daisy Chain Fields’ two stages throughout the day, catching every artist was technically possible, but it sometimes required a little hustle. After Chappell Roan wrapped her set on the Dandelion Stage, groups of fans could be seen running across the grounds toward the Marigold Stage, where Not For Radio was scheduled to begin just 10 minutes later. Some made the trek all over again before the set was finished, leaving early to secure a spot back at Dandelion before Rodrigo began.

Those who stayed were treated to an ethereal set from Not For Radio, the solo project of The Marías vocalist María Zardoya. Wearing a black midi skirt and ruffled top, Zardoya seemed to practically float across the stage with her signature graceful movements, surrounded by a lush backdrop of flowers, greenery and grass that made the performance feel like its own little dreamlike world.

“I feel so lucky to be here at the very first Daisy Chain Festival. Thank you so much, Olivia,” Zardoya told the crowd before introducing a new song with a title particularly fitting after a day of scorching temperatures. “This next song is a new song, and it’s called ‘Hot Day.’ It’s been hot, so, you know.”

Chappell Roan almost matched Rodrigo for the biggest crowd reactions of the day during her 40 minutes on the Dandelion Stage before Rodrigo. Dressed in a lavender blue replica of the stewardess costumes in the 1997 sci-fi film “The Fifth Element,” Roan raced through a set that included songs such as “Femininomenon,” “Hot to Go,” and “Red Win Supernova” before closing with a huge crowd singalong on “Pink Pony Club.”

She was preceded by Doechii in a colorful, high-energy run through songs such as “Anxiety,” “Catfish,” and “Denial Is a River.” Earlier highlights on the Dandelion stage included performances by Mitski, Santigold and Devon Again.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields fest gives $10 million to 10 nonprofits

Garbage played the Marigold Stage at twilight, with powerful singer Shirley Manson on songs such as “There’s No Future in Optimism,” “Stupid Girl,” and “Only Happy When It Rains.”

Like Josephine Wiggs of the Breeders and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill who’d played terrific sets on the same stage earlier in the day, Manson took time to urge fans to carry on the spirit of Daisy Chain Fields in their day-to-day lives.

“To be part of the Daisy Chain, that will stick with you for the rest of your life,” Manson said. “Understand that there is community and there is power in women all over the world.”

Read more Investors prosper and consumers pay as the Iran war exacts an uneven economic toll 6 months in