NiceGirlsTV.com Nice Girls watch TV…then talk about it behind your back.
As I have mentioned in the past, I am a HUGE fan of singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, dating back to the early 1990’s when her massively huge album “Fumbling Toward Ecstacy” made an impact on my life and helped me get through the devastating loss of my dad.
The reason I bring all that up is that during the latter part of the 90’s Sarah McLachlan and a large contingent of female singers joined together to participate in the now world famous Lilith Fair.
Well, a new Lilith Fair – this time called the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival – just took place this past weekend in Irvine, California. The driving force behind this new festival, which united women and girls with nonprofits promoting their well-being, was 23-year-old singer-songwriter and former Disney star Olivia Rodrigo.
Now for those of you who, like me, are part of Gen X (and for those few who might be unfamiliar with the nomenclature that means those of us born between 1965 and 1980) – or generations older than that – Olivia Rodrigo is a very popular singer-songwriter who got her start as a child actress in commercials and movies and then starred in two very popular teen-oriented TV shows on Disney.
Since 2020, Rodrigo has shifted her focus to music, releasing three albums and going on three world tours for those albums. She has three Grammys to her name, four MTV Video Music Awards and seven Billboard Music Awards. Among her other accolades she was named Time’s Entertainer of the Year in 2021, Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2022 and she was named Pop Music Songwriter of the Year by ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) in both 2022 and 2024.
Needless to say, she is very well recognized by the younger generations that make up your youngest children or nieces and nephews, or in some cases your grandkids.
For my purposes, I see her as this generation’s Sarah McLachlan, which brings me back to both Lilith Fair and the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival. Both events brought together talented women in the music industry, raised a lot of money [more on that shortly] and brought in the crowds in droves.
In fact, Rodrigo – who “has made a name channeling the rage and dissatisfaction of modern romance into chart-topping songs that are equal parts Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette” – took inspiration from the McLachlan-founded Lilith Fair to create the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival and even got to perform with McLachlan at the new festival held on Saturday, August 29.
RELATED: Sarah McLachlan and Lilith Fair
One of the driving forces behind this music festival was to “bridge the gap between Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) and nonprofits, which have struggled to build relationships with younger donors who tend to prefer informal ways of giving.”
Just how much money was raised at this brand new music festival, you might ask? Well, $20 million was raised for “women’s well-being” with $10 million of that total being raised before the festival had even taken place with that money going to “10 nonprofit partners including Planned Parenthood, National Women’s Law Center and Black Mamas Matter Alliance.
Rodrigo shared that despite the “regression of women’s rights” today, this festival and the artists who took part in it, “gave her hope.” She continued by saying, “that’s actually why I fell in love with the name ‘Daisy Chain’…it served as a reminder of how individual parts can come together to create something strong and unbreakable.”
Among participants in the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival were queer pop star Chappell Roan, breakout rapper Doechii and riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill as well as the aforementioned McLachlan performing alongside Rodrigo. It should also be noted that rock legend Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame) and Karen O, from the indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, were also there and performed with Rodrigo and McLachlan.
Rodrigo has confirmed there will be another Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival in 2027 so be on the lookout for details.
In the meantime, you can read more about the 2026 Daisy Chain Field Music Festival here and by visiting the festival’s official site here.
[Featured Image Photo Credit: Olivia Rodrigo]
