An all-women music festival held at Great Park in Irvine on August 29 raised $10 million for a group of nonprofit organizations, with billionaire philanthropist Melinda Gates pledging to match that amount, bringing the total donation to $20 million.
The event, called Daisy Chain Fields, was organized by Grammy-winning singer Olivia Rodrigo and featured an all-female lineup including Chappell Roan, Kesha, Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, Doechii, Katseye, Mitski, The Breeders, Die Spitz, Bikini Kill, Eli, Garbage, Quiet Light, Rachel Chinouriri, and Not for Radio. Karen O, Stevie Nicks, and Sarah McLachlan also made appearances.
“Daisy Chain Fields was created to celebrate the power of what can happen when we come together to support one another,” Rodrigo said of the festival.
“The organizations we’ve partnered with are doing incredibly important work every single day in the U.S. and globally,” she said.
Following in Lilith Fair’s footsteps
Rodrigo drew a comparison to Lilith Fair, an earlier all-female touring festival, saying, “Before Lilith Fair, women were told that they couldn’t lead a festival, that no one would come, that they couldn’t get sponsors, and those women proved everyone wrong. Thanks to those trailblazers, we are obviously in a very different situation now.”
Where the money is going
Proceeds from the Irvine festival were divided among nonprofits working on reproductive health, maternal care, economic empowerment, survivor support, indigenous health, and family services. The list of beneficiaries includes Planned Parenthood, Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Center for Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Institute for Reproductive Health, and National Women’s Law Center.
The $10 million raised at the Great Park event was doubled when Melinda Gates, who attended the festival, announced she would match the total dollar for dollar.
“Melinda is one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met. She’s devoted her life to empowering women and girls that might have otherwise been forgotten. She’s generous and brave and has done so much good in this world, and I’m totally floored because as well as being in attendance here tonight, she’s pledged to double every dollar that we made here today to a grand total of funds being donated to $20 million. I’m so grateful,” Rodrigo told the crowd.
