Melinda French Gates doubles Daisy Chain Fields donations to $20m
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Olivia Rodrigo's inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, held at Great Park in Irvine, California, on 29-30 August, raised $10 million for women's rights nonprofits, with philanthropist Melinda French Gates doubling that total to $20 million through a matching donation from her charity, Pivotal. Rodrigo said the artists and activists involved had given her hope amid what she called a "regression of women's rights", and the women-led event donated proceeds across ten nonprofit partners, including Planned Parenthood, Baby2Baby and the National Women's Law Center.
The two-stage line-up featured Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, Garbage, Santigold, the Breeders and Die Spitz, alongside a headline set from Rodrigo and special guests including Stevie Nicks. KATSEYE withdrew from performing after a member sprained her ankle, though three of the group's members made a surprise appearance to introduce Baby2Baby, with Devon Again stepping in as their replacement on the bill. The festival also featured a "Daisy Lane" walkway marking 130 years of milestones for women, a philanthropy village, brand activations from LEGO and Taco Bell, and appearances from celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Rachel Zegler, with Rodrigo signalling plans to hold the event again next year.
- Daisy Chain Fields festival raised $20m for women's rights charities
- Melinda French Gates matched the $10m raised with her own donation
- Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski and Stevie Nicks performed in Irvine, CA
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Melinda French Gates has agreed to match funds raised at Daisy Chain Fields, the first charity music festival organised by singer Olivia Rodrigo, held in Irvine, California. Tickets to the event benefited ten nonprofits focused on women's causes, among them Baby2Baby, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Also connected to the festival is KATSEYE, a K-pop group whose members had been due to perform before an injury forced them to withdraw. The group has been drawing wider attention recently after reaching number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time.
Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist known for funding health, education and women's causes, including through her own foundation. Her decision to match the festival's takings significantly increases the amount of money going to the participating charities.
Full account
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo's newly launched charity festival, Daisy Chain Fields, has raised a combined $20 million (£15.8 million) for organisations supporting women and girls, after businesswoman and philanthropist Melinda French Gates pledged to match the event's takings dollar for dollar. Rodrigo had revealed on the Friday before the one-day event, held in Irvine, California, that ticket sales and related donations had already generated $10 million for ten selected nonprofits, a total French Gates then doubled with a surprise on-stage pledge during Rodrigo's Saturday night headline set.
Addressing the crowd before her set, Rodrigo thanked the artists who had waived their fees to take part before revealing the initial $10 million figure, which she said reflected the generosity of ticket buyers, performers and sponsors alike. She then introduced French Gates, describing her as one of the most inspiring people she had met and praising her long-standing commitment to championing women and girls, before announcing that French Gates would match the sum raised, bringing the total to $20 million. The proceeds are to be shared equally among ten beneficiary organisations: Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center for Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Women's Law Center and Planned Parenthood.
Daisy Chain Fields, first announced in June and staged for the first time this year, brought together a broad line-up including Chappell Roan, Mitski, Doechii, Bikini Kill, the Breeders, Garbage and Rachel Chinouriri, alongside emerging acts such as Eli, Quiet Light, Devon Again and Not For Radio. The bill also featured guest appearances from Stevie Nicks, Karen O and Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan, lending the festival a sense of continuity with earlier women-led touring showcases.
The event was not without last-minute disruption to its schedule. Girl group Katseye had initially been billed to perform but withdrew days beforehand after member Megan sustained an ankle injury in rehearsal, with medical advice to rest ahead of the group's upcoming tour. Despite pulling out of their performance slot, three of the group's active members made an unannounced appearance on stage shortly before their replacement act, Devon Again, to introduce charity partner Baby2Baby and to express support for Rodrigo and the festival's aims, with Megan noting that although she could not perform, her enthusiasm for the cause remained undimmed.
Where outlets differ
The Hollywood Reporter account centres on the donation announcement itself, quoting Rodrigo's on-stage remarks introducing Melinda French Gates at length and giving the fullest rundown of the festival's performer line-up and guest appearances.
The Billboard-style account instead foregrounds the Katseye storyline, detailing the group's ankle injury, their withdrawal from the bill, and their surprise appearance to introduce Baby2Baby — treating the charity total as background context rather than the main story.
Only the Katseye-focused source notes the group's wider line-up situation (members on hiatus for wellness and mental health reasons) and their recent Billboard 200 No. 1, details omitted entirely from the donation-focused report.