The all-women festival brought music, feminist activism and joyful resistance together—raising $20 million for organizations supporting women and girls.Kim Deal of The Breeders performs during Daisy Chain Fields at The Great Park on Aug. 29, 2026 in Irvine, Calif. One hundred percent of the festival’s net proceeds benefit nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing and advocating for women and girls. (Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

On Saturday, Aug. 29, more than 45,000 music fans traveled to Irvine, Calif., for the first-ever Daisy Chain Fields music festival, organized and headlined by Olivia Rodrigo, where 100 percent of the proceeds went to organizations supporting women and girls. Under the sweltering SoCal sun, an all-women lineup—including sets from Mitski, Doechii, Garbage, Chappell Roan and others (all of whom performed for free)—fundraised for 10 nonprofits including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The all-day festival, inspired by Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair of the 1990s, raised $10 million in ticket sales. Then, during her set at the end of the day, Rodrigo announced (to massive applause) that Melinda French Gates was matching every dollar raised—bringing the festival’s total donation to $20 million for diverse nonprofits supporting sexual and reproductive health, children in need, Black mothers, gender-based violence survivors, Indigenous communities and more.

I was lucky enough to go to Daisy Chain Fields and cover the festival for Ms. In the “Daisy Chain Reaction Village,” I spoke with several of the organizations that will receive Daisy Chain Fields funds.

“We wanted to come to the festival because we feel really passionately about connecting with new audiences on the issue of reproductive rights, particularly younger audiences who may not be as aware or knowledgeable about the national and international state of reproductive rights and bodily autonomy,” said Esme Lowe from the Center for Reproductive Rights. “It’s just super exciting because we’re engaging with people we might not [otherwise] even get to talk to.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights represented Amanda Zurawski, plaintiff in the major post-Dobbs abortion-rights case Zurawski v. Texas (and subject of the documentary of the same name), who also appeared at Daisy Chain Fields.

Meanwhile, Emily Escobar from Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties said, “We wanted to make sure folks understood the impact of Planned Parenthood, the services that we provide to our community. … We are that safety net provider for a lot of people. We recently got defunded through the federal government, which was a year-long defund that really impacted our financials and our ability to stay afloat. And so we want folks to come out and show support for us—whether that means donating, sharing their story or volunteering their time.”

Also at Daisy Chain Fields were Ai-jen Poo and Jenn Stowe, president and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, respectively (as well as Ms. contributors).

“The work that we do at the National Domestic Workers Alliance really is about advocating for nannies, house cleaners and care workers, and so we have the opportunity to introduce a whole new generation of women and girls to our movement,” Stowe said.

“This is such an amazing way to connect people, especially young people, to great women’s organizations, and to also just project the power of women and girls together,” Poo added. “No matter what is happening in the world, we can always decide to come together and support each other. This is such a powerful modeling.”

In line outside the Daisy Chain Reaction Village, sisters Madison and Mackenzie Wong said they were excited to attend the festival in their home city of Irvine, and happy to see a lot of younger fans of Olivia Rodrigo there to learn about the causes Daisy Chain Fields was supporting. 

“I think it’s important for big artists who have a platform to use their voice,” Mackenzie said. “They have so much influence anyway, so no matter what they say, it’s going to have a broader impact.”

“I love Olivia, and I like to know that [the cost of the tickets] is going to a good cause,” said Kirsten Ochoa, another Irvine resident.

Rodrigo is a longtime vocal supporter of reproductive rights. 

On the day of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, Rodrigo and her friend Lily Allen sang Allen’s song “Fuck You” on stage at Glastonbury. Rodrigo said, “This song goes out to the justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.” 

In 2025, Planned Parenthood gave Rodrigo an award to recognize her activism and fundraising for women’s rights and abortion rights.

Besides the performing artists and organizations including Planned Parenthood, Rodrigo invited a number of feminist activists to Daisy Chain Fields, including Zurawski and Avery Colvert of Altadena Girls, which donated clothing, makeup and other items to teenage girls in Los Angeles after the January 2025 wildfires.

Rodrigo’s set at the end of the night included songs from her new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, as well as classics like, “bad idea right?”, “good 4 u,” “deja vu” and “drivers license.”

She brought special guests Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morrisette and Stevie Nicks out onstage with her, crediting McLachlan for creating the all-women Lilith Fair in 1997—even though, at the time, “people said two women couldn’t be headliners at the same music festival, and two women couldn’t be played back to back on the same radio station.”

Rodrigo and McLachlan also honored Dolly Parton, a trailblazer both for women in music and artists’ philanthropy, who passed away at 80 last week, with a special song. (Gloria Steinem wrote about Parton and her feminism for Ms. in 1987.)

Jessica Valenti of Abortion, Every Day and the rest of the AED team were also at Daisy Chain Fields, and as a longtime AED reader, I was excited to meet them. In a column about the festival, Abortion, Every Day writer Kylie Cheung wrote that Daisy Chain Fields “felt as much like a day on a utopian feminist commune as a music festival.”

“An all-female lineup would be a splashy feat on its own—so would the $20 million donation to support abortion access, survivors, and care workers. Yet, I found myself most awestruck by the cultural implications of the biggest Gen Z pop star in the industry not just paying lip service or being coy about her political views, but stepping into her power as a feminist icon. Embracing feminism. Reclaiming it as not just urgent and essential, but cool, fun, and celebratory at a time when too many young women and girls are being implicitly and explicitly told that feminism is cringe.”

“We are just so grateful to have been chosen among the 10 organizations to come out here by Daisy Chain Fields and Olivia Rodrigo,” said Angela Doyinsola Aina, executive director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA). “[We’re here] to really go beyond just raising the alarm about the rising maternal mortality rates in the United States but to amplify and showcase the solutions … We are a network of so many organizations and multidisciplinary professionals like doulas, midwives, physicians, nurses, public health folks, even artists who are providing services, care, but also programs in their local communities to fill the gap beyond the hospital system.”

Daisy Chain Fields also raised money for the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH).

NIRH president Christian LoBue said, “We’re so excited to be a part of the spirit of community that’s coming together in service of reproductive freedom and justice and equity for women and girls around the country. We know that this is an opportunity to talk more about the work that we do as well as connect with more supporters and folks who might want to work on reproductive freedom issues in their local communities.”

Abby Louie and Dale Yu traveled all the way from New York City to Daisy Chain Fields.

“I thought it was a really great way to not only support my favorite artists, but also support the organizations that are being donated to, and I think this overall goal was really thoughtful and intentional for Olivia’s demographic,” Louie said. “I feel like Olivia, she’s a great example of how you can be political and also joyful at the same moment. I think she really walks an incredible line of artistry and politics.”

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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need. Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. Add your voice and complete the sentence: “Access to reproductive choices gave me the freedom to….” Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible. 

Look to these trusted groups if you or a loved one needs to know more about reliable abortion care:

• A one-stop-shop for abortion seekers: I Need An A
• Other websites to explore all your options for abortion care: Plan C Pills, Abortion Finder
• Safe websites to buy abortion medication: Aid Access, Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, Hey Jane
• If you need help affording abortion care, tell your telemedicine provider or contact an abortion fund near you.
• To protect your digital privacy when planning your abortion, click here.
• For free legal help as a patient or doctor, call If/When/How’s Repro Helpline—844-868-2812—or contact Pregnancy Justice.
• For medical advice, contact the Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline: 833-246-2632.
• If you need to know the abortion law in your state, look to the Center for Reproductive Rights. or Guttmacher Institute.