LIVE REVIEW: Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Celebrates Punk, Femininity & Unity In Abundance
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Olivia Rodrigo's debut Daisy Chain Fields Festival in Irvine, California unfolded as an all-women line-up built around cross-generational punk and political expression, with Rodrigo declaring it "the best day of my fucking life" to a sold-out crowd of 45,000 at Grant Park's main stage. New coverage from Rocksound details the day's performances, including Austin punk-metal quartet Die Spitz opening the bill and Riot Grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill following, with frontwoman Kathleen Hanna noting it was the first time the band hadn't needed to call "girls to the front" because of the crowd's make-up.
The festival is being framed as a spiritual successor to Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, which ran from 1997 to 1999 (with a failed 2010 revival) after McLachlan was told by the industry that women couldn't share a bill or radio slot; it went on to become 1997's top-grossing touring festival and raised $10 million for women's charities. Tickets for Rodrigo's 23rd-birthday-adjacent event, headlined by the 23-year-old pop star, sold out within 30 minutes, and the review highlights Die Spitz's genre-blending punk-metal-grunge set and Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl"-powered performance, complete with Hanna urging the crowd to keep using their voices and educating others.
- Rocksound review details Die Spitz and Bikini Kill's sets at Rodrigo's festival.
- Kathleen Hanna: first Bikini Kill show not needing "girls to the front".
- Festival echoes Sarah McLachlan's 1990s Lilith Fair, which raised $10m for charity.
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Punk in general does not usually get associated with mainstream pop, but Olivia Rodrigo — best known for chart-topping hits blending pop, rock and confessional songwriting — has built her Daisy Chain Fields Festival around exactly that crossover. Held in Irvine, California, the debut event brought together an all-women line-up spanning several generations, pairing newer acts such as Austin punk-metal band Die Spitz with Riot Grrrl veterans Bikini Kill, whose frontwoman Kathleen Hanna has long been associated with 1990s feminist punk activism.
The festival is being widely compared to Lilith Fair, a touring festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s after she was reportedly told the music industry would not support women sharing a bill or radio airplay together. Lilith Fair became a major commercial success and raised significant funds for women's charities before ending in 1999, with a later revival attempt failing in 2010. That history is the reference point audiences and critics are using to judge whether Rodrigo's new festival marks a similar moment for women in music.
Beyond the music, the event is notable for its scale and speed of sell-out, drawing a large crowd and selling all tickets shortly after release, which has been taken as a sign of strong demand for women-led festival line-ups. Riot Grrrl, the movement Bikini Kill helped originate, combined punk music with feminist politics, and its influence on the festival's tone is part of why commentators are framing the event as carrying more than just musical significance.
Full account
Olivia Rodrigo has staged her own all-female music festival, Daisy Chain Fields, held at Grant Park in Irvine, California, drawing a crowd of around 45,000 people. Tickets reportedly sold out within about half an hour of going on sale. The event, topped by Rodrigo herself, assembled a lineup spanning genres and generations but united by female performers who use their platforms both musically and politically. Rodrigo told the crowd from the main stage that it was "the best day" of her life, capturing the celebratory tone of the occasion.
The festival was widely framed as a spiritual successor to Lilith Fair, the touring showcase founded by Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s after she was told, on suggesting a fellow female artist as her support act, that two women could not credibly share a bill. Running from 1997 to 1999, with a short-lived 2010 revival that was ultimately cancelled owing to weak ticket sales, Lilith Fair became the top-grossing touring festival of 1997 despite industry scepticism, featured acts including Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls, The Pretenders and Erykah Badu, and raised roughly ten million US dollars for women's charities such as Planned Parenthood and RAINN. Rodrigo's event, arriving almost three decades later, was cast as the fulfilment of McLachlan's long-stated wish to eventually pass the torch to a new generation.
On the day itself, the bill opened with Austin punk-metal quartet Die Spitz, whose members swapped instruments and clashing personal styles on stage while their guitarist spoke of the importance of creative and political freedom. That spirit of individuality within a shared cause was said to run through the rest of the lineup, with performers differing widely in genre while sharing a willingness to speak out and shape culture on their own terms.
In the days that followed, Rodrigo appeared at the Grammy Museum for a public conversation and acoustic set with journalist and filmmaker Cameron Crowe, during which she discussed her acclaimed new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, fielded a light-hearted question about who might one day play her in a biopic, and performed stripped-back versions of several album tracks, including one, "Less", that had not featured in her Daisy Chain Fields set. The appearance, before a far smaller audience of around 200, underlined the scale of anticipation building around Rodrigo ahead of an expected strong showing at the Grammys and a forthcoming arena tour.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 centres on the festival day itself, giving extensive background on Lilith Fair's 1990s origins, its charitable fundraising and its clash with music-industry scepticism about female-led bills, and describes the on-stage energy of opening act Die Spitz in detail.
Source 2 barely touches the festival's history or politics, instead focusing on a separate Grammy Museum Q&A held days later, using it to discuss Rodrigo's new album, a hypothetical biopic, and her Grammy prospects.
Source 2 provides corroborating detail Source 1 does not, such as the festival selling out instantly, the acoustic set list performed at the Grammy Museum, and the note that the song 'Less' was omitted from the Daisy Chain Fields performance.
Only Source 1 quotes Die Spitz vocalist Eleanor Livingston and Rodrigo's on-stage remark about it being the best day of her life; only Source 2 quotes the Crowe interview exchange about biopic casting.
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