Key Takeaways
- Olivia Rodrigo is launching Daisy Chain Fields, a sold-out, all-women festival in Irvine on August 29 that channels the spirit of Lilith Fair while raising money for groups like Planned Parenthood and the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health.
- Lilith Fair icons Sarah McLachlan and Paula Cole are backing the event, with McLachlan appearing as a special guest and Cole calling Rodrigo’s move a powerful rejection of “patriarchal bullsh*t” and a new wave of courage for women artists.
- The festival builds on Lilith Fair’s legacy as a 1990s touring juggernaut that proved women-led lineups could dominate the market and support local women’s charities, a story recently revisited in the 2025 documentary “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery.”
Olivia Rodrigo is giving the Lilith Fair model a Gen Z reboot—and Paula Cole says it’s about time. The Grammy-winning singer has enthusiastically backed Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields, an all-women music festival designed to turn star power into support for women and girls.
“I’m so thrilled. Finally, somebody did it, and it was Olivia Rodrigo. Bless her soul,” Cole told People.
Daisy Chain Fields hits Irvine, California, on August 29, with Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan appearing as a special guest. Stevie Nicks is also expected to join the sold-out event, which will feature female solo artists and women-fronted groups.
Net proceeds will benefit organizations including Planned Parenthood and the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health. It’s not an official Lilith Fair revival, but Rodrigo is clearly picking up the torch.
McLachlan launched Lilith Fair in 1997 after radio programmers and concert promoters insisted that audiences wouldn’t support multiple women on the same bill. The festival proved them spectacularly wrong. Its first run became the top-grossing festival of 1997 with $16 million in revenue, while later tours generated tens of millions more and donated heavily to local women’s charities.
The original lineups were stacked: Cole, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Bonnie Raitt, Mýa, Natalie Merchant and the Indigo Girls all appeared.
Organizers also expanded the festival’s racial and musical range by booking artists including Missy Elliott, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and Queen Latifah.
Cole recently reunited with McLachlan for a Boston performance, where the two discussed Rodrigo’s festival and its connection to Lilith Fair.
“If you ignore all of that patriarchal bullsh*t, all that misogyny out there, if you can just be proactive and hoist yourself up on your own bootstraps and put on the festival…you can do it,” Cole said. “She did it. So proud of her. So excited.”
Lilith Fair ended after its 1999 edition as McLachlan battled burnout, while a 2010 relaunch failed to recapture the original run’s impact. Its legacy returned to the spotlight with the 2025 documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, featuring McLachlan, Cole, Jewel and Rodrigo.
Now Rodrigo is moving that legacy forward instead of simply celebrating it.
“It gives women courage to speak out and to realize they have power,” Cole said. “It’s exponential, and it’s like waves of courage.”
