Olivia Rodrigo has been expressing what it meant to pull off her festival Daisy Chain Fields over the weekend. In an emotional Instagram post, she said that seeing the event come together was “the greatest joy” of her life.
Organising any festival is a massive undertaking, and Rodrigo was personally involved in the event. It was her vision to revive the spirit and the format of the all-female Lilith Fair fest of the late 1990s and, like that event, Daisy Chain Fields was also a fundraiser for non-profit organisations working with women and girls. Rodrigo put the bill together and personally made the calls. All at the same time she was putting together her own album.
“I am still in a bit of disbelief that it happened,” she posted, “and I still feel incapable of properly expressing the gratitude that I feel for every person who believed in this vision and fought so hard to make it a reality.”
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Performers included Chappell Roan, Doechii and Bikini Kill, though Rodrigo’s own set was memorable for a number of reasons. The singer brought out Sarah McLachlan, the Lilith Fair organiser, and the pair duetted on Angel, which was dedicated to Dolly Parton.
Later on. Stevie Nicks joined Rodrigo for a version of Nicks’ own Landslide, and Alanis Morissette (a late replacement for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O) came on to perform Ironic with the singer.
Over $10 million dollars was raised for non-profits including Baby2Baby, which distributes supplies to children and parents in need, and the National Women’s Law Center. Appearing later that night, Melinda French Gates joined Rodrigo on stage and announced that she was matching that amount to make the final total raised $20 million.
But by all accounts, Daisy Chain Fields wore its activism lightly. In her post, Rodrigo said that one of her own highlights was hanging out at Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Tree’ installation after the crowds had gone home. It was here that punters were encouraged to write their deepest desires.
“By and large almost every tag said the same thing,” said Rodrigo. “Everyone hoped for the world to be more peaceful, they all hoped that the people they loved were happy, they all hoped to make a difference.
“It made me so emotional and I realised that was exactly why Daisy Chain meant so much to me. The artwork reminded me of how we are all much more alike than we are different and how deep down, we all just want to help each other and make the world a better place. Yesterday, Daisy Chain felt like just that: a collective hope that things can get better and a reminder of how much we really care about people at the end of the day.”
