Daisy Chain Fields 2026: Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Garbage & More in Photos

Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields is the first (of hopefully many) reimagined festival of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair, supporting 10 nonprofit organizations focusing on women and girls. $10 million was raised and was matched by philanthropist Melinda French Gates with another $10 million, all to be split amongst Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Center for Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Institute for Reproductive Health, National Women's Law Center, and Planned Parenthood. Inside the festival, there was a space where all these charities maintained a booth with various activities to teach festival-goers more about their mission, and, as a bonus, you could collect a button at each station to fill a designated spot on a collectible Daisy Chain Fields tote bag.

Throughout the festival map, there were multiple activities and opportunities to gain limited merch from the vendors and help “build” the art pieces: from Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree at the entrance, to a huge LEGO art piece where you built a small section and staff would hammer it onto the main board, and Ariel Zana’s interactive mirror installation, “I Always Knew the Words,” where you would answer a question like, “Who do you wish was here with you now?”

Though I didn’t get to experience all that the festival had to offer, I was mainly focused on trying to catch every act since the festival’s timeline was laid out with no overlap. I was so excited at the chance to actually see all the amazing artists that Olivia hand-picked for the lineup. I also learned that she actually called each band herself to ask if they would participate…. So it really felt like she built the festival not only to give back to her favorite charities, but to actually have her playlist brought to life, which also so happens to be my favorite playlist as well! I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Garbage, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Breeders, and as of recently, Not For Radio, Chappell Roan and Bikini Kill, so it was really exciting to learn that all these people are either friends or inspirations behind Olivia’s own music journey.

Of course I wanted merch, so I actually got to the festival the day before to pick up my wristband and saw they had a pop-up merch booth that stayed open until 9 p.m. or so. It was also available during the day of the festival before doors. I believe most everything sold out rather quickly, as expected.

When the main entrance opened at 10:30 a.m., most of the crowd went running to the Dandelion Stage to take a spot to see Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan at the end of the night… I only assumed this because a few yelled “Chappell” and/or “Olivia” as they sped by media already inside the gates. Lol!

A few notes on the festival experience: people were warned it was going to be hot, but there were still a number of guests headed to the medical tents for heat stroke, and apparently food and drink mixers were spoiling due to the heat, causing a few guests to get sick. Before dinner, most food trucks were out of food altogether. Hydration stations were wonderful, but there were none next to the Marigold Stage. Thankfully, the security team was passing out cold waters for those who needed them in the audience. I know I always grabbed two when having to walk back to the Dandelion Stage because the water station in the middle of the grounds always had a LOOOOOOONG line I didn’t have time to wait in. I noticed the festival was mainly full of lines…. Everywhere. There was a lot to experience and collect at Daisy Chain Fields, but the heat just added extra stress with the lack of shade and water options. Most of what I heard was that the music and interactive parts of the festival itself were amazing, but it lacked the amenities to properly handle that many people, especially in the middle of a Southern California heat wave. I left the festival a song early and was lucky to be within walking distance of my hotel… but found many concertgoers stranded in the parking lot, taking hours to leave due to poor traffic management. Standard capacity for Great Park in Irvine (the location of Daisy Chain Fields) is 10,000 people, so expanding that number to 45,000 for Olivia Rodrigo’s historic first festival was bound to have some hiccups along the way. Good and bad, I would still do it again…

With my goal to shoot every artist, I didn’t get to stick around to watch any performances because the stages were a 10–15-minute walk apart with no overlaps. The Dandelion Stage mainly had the more popular Top 40 sounds of modern pop, while the Marigold Stage held the alternative mix of musicians along with my vintage favorites (I totally would’ve hung out here all day if I would’ve had a chance to purchase a ticket). Though I only experienced the first three songs of every act, I wanted to give each band a shout-out based on what I saw and what I heard from other festival attendees via social media and such.

Quiet Light started the day off on a dreamy note. Described as electronic folk music, they brought an almost ethereal stage presence. It was a nice, mellow way to ease into what would become a very long and very loud day.

ELI brought a fun mix of pop, R&B and Y2K-inspired sounds to one of the early sets of the afternoon. She had a ton of personality onstage and definitely didn't perform like someone stuck with an early festival slot.

Rachel Chinouriri somehow managed to stay upbeat and energetic through the afternoon heat, bringing her bright indie-pop sound to the field. Her set was easy, fun and a great introduction for anyone who hadn't caught her live before.

KATSEYE unfortunately had to cancel their scheduled performance after Megan Skiendiel injured her ankle, but members of the group still made an appearance during the festival to introduce Devon Again, who stepped in at the last minute after KATSEYE had to cancel their performance, which couldn't have been the easiest position to be in. She handled it like it was always her spot, bringing a mix of alt-pop, big vocals and a little bit of country influence along with her. Devon Again is also on tour with Olivia as her opener, so hopefully I can catch Devon again!

Die Spitz was the first act of the day to bring some rock to the festival. The Austin punk band instigated mosh pits, crowd interaction and exactly the kind of messy, loud energy you want from an afternoon punk set. Though they started their set with some tech issues, they quickly brought up the energy with the opening song.

Santigold turned her set into one big dance party, complete with dancers, plenty of movement and eventually fans joining her onstage. Even in the middle of the afternoon heat, it was hard not to get pulled into it.

Seeing Bikini Kill on this lineup made my heart full. Kathleen Hanna and the band still have all of that raw punk energy, and hearing the familiar call for the girls to come to the front felt especially fitting at a festival built around women in music.

Though I missed this one, Mitski packed a lot into her 40-minute Dandelion Stage set, mixing favorites like “Nobody,” “First Love/Late Spring,” “My Love Mine All Mine” and “Washing Machine Heart” with newer material. Her signature theatrical style was a big part of the performance, incorporating Butoh-inspired movement against visuals from 1940s melodramas. Photos of Mitski provided by the festival are by Izzy Nuzzo + Anna Lee.

The Breeders brought some much-needed '90s alternative rock into the mix, sounding as fuzzy and effortlessly cool as ever. They even dropped “Cannonball” right into the middle of the set instead of saving the obvious crowd favorite for the end. Looking into the crowd before I left, it was pretty cool to see so many young girls dancing and some even singing the lyrics… not sure they know how cool they actually are for that.

I almost missed Doechii because I was hesitant about making another trek to the Dandelion Stage in the middle of the heat, but my fellow photographer friends convinced me I would regret it. Thus, I hydrated up and am soooooo happy I made it. Doechii was easily one of the biggest visual performances of the day, walking out covered head-to-toe in pink body paint with dancers beside her. Between the choreography, rapping and pure stage presence, there was a LOT happening — in the best way.

The reason why I wanted to shoot this festival: Garbage never disappoints. With Shirley Manson as commanding and outspoken as ever, she has always been a voice for women’s rights and against the evils in the world, so she certainly fit in naturally with Olivia Rodrigo’s charity festival. Even when they had to restart a song because of a technical issue, she somehow turned the mistake into part of the show. In an interview I heard with Shirley, she said that she had never met Olivia and was really impressed with the courage she had to personally call and ask if Garbage would participate in the Daisy Chain Festival…. For free. If I could’ve stayed for the whole set, I would have, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to catch the next act.

At long last, I finally got to see Chappell Roan live…. She came out with a whole new purple retro-futuristic look that was based on the outfits worn by the stewardesses in The Fifth Element and announced she was basically giving us “only the hits,” which nobody was going to complain about. Her set was one giant singalong and another reminder of just how quickly her live shows have grown into full festival-headliner territory. My favorite moment from this one was being front of house and turning around to see a PACKED audience of thousands upon thousands and thousands of people singing and dancing to “HOT TO GO!” in perfect unison. Second to that was walking out of the pit through the crowd, interacting with them and singing “Red Wine Supernova” as I made my way to another hydration station.

Another favorite (and yay for so many of my personal playlist artists being back-to-back), María Zardoya's Not for Radio project waited until twilight to slow it down and make it feel like you were about to enter into a dream-like state with their forest stage setting and ethereal lighting. The live band gave the songs a little more weight and distortion than the recordings, which worked really well in the festival setting. I’m sad I missed her walking into the crowd, but I had to make my way through the majority of the 45,000 attendees to get to the pit in time for the final act.

Olivia Rodrigo first walked out onstage to really take in all of her hard work on Daisy Chain Fields finally coming to life and live in the final moments of its historic start. Thanking every band that donated their talent and their voice, she announced Melinda French Gates had matched the money raised for the festival, which brought the grand total to $20 million donated. Hopping into her set, she pulled from all three of her albums, but it was the guest appearances that really made the night feel special. It became less about one headlining set and more of a celebration of the different generations of women who helped shape the music she loves.

Having Sarah McLachlan appear felt especially fitting considering Daisy Chain Fields was inspired in part by what Lilith Fair created decades ago. She joined Olivia for “Building a Mystery” and “Angel” (dedicated to Dolly Parton, who passed earlier this week), giving the night one of its sweetest throwback moments.

Alanis Morissette stepped in as a surprise guest when Karen O had to back out due to a family emergency and joined Olivia Rodrigo for “Ironic,” which naturally turned into a massive crowd singalong (not sure if “sing” is the right word to describe it, as I always tend to scream anything Alanis — more fun that way).

And then there was Stevie Nicks. She joined Olivia Rodrigo for the final song of the night, “Landslide,” which was about as perfect of an ending as you could ask for at a festival centered around generations of women in music.

I am so grateful to SOUNDCHECKSF for sending me on assignment on such a historic festival, and look froward to going again next year!