Olivia Rodrigo's female-only festival opens with artists declaring women's rights at 'crisis point'

One day before the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival opens at the Great Park in Irvine, California, its performers are describing the event as a response to a political emergency. Chappell Roan, Shirley Manson and the pop artist Eli each told The Guardian that they see the all-female festival, curated by Olivia Rodrigo, as a way to push back against what Manson called a "crisis point" for women's rights.

Manson, who fronts the band Garbage, said she turned down an invitation to play Lilith Fair in the 1990s because she believed there was more progress for women then. "And here we are in 2026, as women's rights are regressing all over the world," she told The Guardian. "We're at a crisis point."

“I might have been naive, but it felt like there was more progress for women then. And here we are in 2026, as women's rights are regressing all over the world. We're at a crisis point.”

: Shirley Manson, speaking to The Guardian

The festival, announced in June, has no overlapping sets and lists every act in identical typeface, a deliberate break from typical festival hierarchy. Eli, who will play her first festival at Daisy Chain Fields, said the format "creates a necessary and refreshing culture of community, setting up women's art to be received and valued in a less competitive and capitalist environment."

All net proceeds from the one-day event will be distributed among organizations including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, with reproductive-rights education and non-profit activations throughout the site, The Guardian reported. Rodrigo called each act personally to invite them, Manson said, a gesture she found unusual coming directly from an artist rather than an agent.

Roan, who performs immediately before Rodrigo's headlining set, said she felt "honored" to be asked. "Being able to go see a show right now feels like such a privilege, and it's more important than ever for those shows to be safe spaces of inclusivity where fans can disconnect, even if only for a few hours, to have fun and just be together and feel joy," she said. Roan is launching her own charity event, the Super Graphic Spectacular, in October, with all net proceeds going to LGBTQ+ community mutual-aid funds.

The lineup also includes Doechii, Mitski, the Breeders, Bikini Kill, Katseye and special guests Stevie Nicks, Karen O and Sarah McLachlan. Rodrigo modeled the festival partly on McLachlan's Lilith Fair, the touring festival launched in 1997, and McLachlan will perform her own set and join Rodrigo during hers.