FEATURE:
All Queens
Will We Get a Daisy Chain Fields Festival-Like Event in U.K.?
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I will be interested…
IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Rodrigo/PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan McGinley for DAZED
to read the reviews for this one-day festival, as Daisy Chain Fields has been curated by Olivia Rodrigo and brings women to the front. It is a festival featuring women and female-fronted groups. The line-up is brilliant. Not only is it this chance to see these incredible artists together at a wonderful location. At a time when major festivals struggle with gender and women are not booked as headliners as much as they should, festivals like Daisy Chain Fields is a necessity. Things in terms of U.S. festivals are bad regarding gender equality. Only this year did Download Festival book its first female headliner. Linkin Park’s Emily Armstrong the first female headliner. Shocking that such sexism has raged for years. Reading & Leeds has always been male-heavy for headliners, though this year has been a step forward. Though, again, how does it take this long?! A festival should not be congratulated for booking 50% female headliners! It should be the norm! It seems like the bare minimum! Women are dominating music, so why is 50% the best a major festival can do?! Things are even worse for non-male D.J.s. Women and non-binary D.J.s struggling to be included on bills. Primavera Sound 2025 had an all-female lead, and showed how it should be done. Though they took a slight step back this year regarding headliners, their commitment to gender equality continued. Last year was a bad one for women in music. Festivals largely ignoring them. Even if it is hard to predict headliners years in advance (as festivals need to these days), there are so many to choose from, there can be no excuses for disregarding women! This year, Bristol’s FORWARDS Festival has all female Saturday’s co-headliners including Little Simz, Self Esteem, Tems and Wet Leg. Hopefully, Daisy Chain Fields Festival an annual event. I wonder if we will get a U.K. equivalent. Details have emerged regarding stage times. NME provide more detail:
“Olivia Rodrigo has unveiled the stage times for her forthcoming all-female Daisy Chain Fields festival, with sets from Chappell Roan, Bikini Kill, Doechii, Garbage and more.
The single-day event will take place at Great Park in Irvine, California on August 29, bringing together a line-up of women and female-fronted artists across two stages, alongside non-profit and community-focused organisations.
Rodrigo will be performing at the festival, with the line-up also set to include Mitski, The Breeders, KATSEYE, Santigold, Rachel Chinouriri, Die Spitz, Eli, Not For Radio and Quiet Light. Special guests Karen O, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Nicks are also on the bill.
The event will alternate performances between its Dandelion and Marigold stages throughout the day, meaning none of its 14 scheduled sets overlap. You can join the waitlist for tickets here, and check out the stage times below.
Daisy Chain Fields 2026 stage times are:
Dandelion Stage:
11:55 am -12:25 pm – Eli
1:05-1:35 pm – Santigold
2:15-2:45 pm – KATSEYE
3:40-4:20 pm – Mitski
5:20-6:00 pm – Doechii
7:00-7:40 pm – Chappell Roan
8:40-10:00 pm – Olivia Rodrigo & Special Guests
Marigold Stage
11:20-11:50 am – Quiet Light
12:30-1:00 pm – Rachel Chinouriri
1:40-2:10 pm – Die Spitz
2:50-3:30 pm – Bikini Kill
4:30-5:10 pm – The Breeders
6:10-6:50 pm – Garbage
7:50-8:30 pm – Not for Radio”.
A mix of newer artists and some legends on the bill, it is great that there is some British talent in the mix. Of course, people will see the line-up and ask why so-and-so wasn’t book. How come no Phoebe Bridgers? She is over in the U.K. at the moment in readiness for some intimate shows promoting her new album, Lost Weekend. What we get from the Daisy Chain Fields Festival is proof that women can carry festivals. There is still imbalance. When it comes to the biggest stages, headliners still tend to be men. Even with Glastonbury.
The Cut interviewed Olivia Rodrigo earlier in the year to discuss the anticipated Daisy Chain Fields Festival. It seems to have that mix of a modern bouquet festival and something from the 1960s or 1970s. Woodstock, perhaps. It will be a wonderful event that looks like it could run every year. That would be amazing:
“How did you determine the aesthetic for the items and the festival? And where did the name come from?
I wanted Daisy Chain to feel like it was separate from my album campaign and my album rollout, so we always wanted the aesthetic to be sort of a riot-grrrl-meets-flower-child vibe, and that was what we were going for in the collection too. When I thought of the festival, I pictured girls running around and making friendship bracelets, engaging in community, making new friends, and listening to music they love. Daisy Chain Fields sounds like what it felt like to me, and the imagery of a chain symbolizes how strong we can all be when we work together.
Do you want it to be an annual thing?
I really believe in the festival and what it stands for, so I want it to be an annual thing. I really wanted the charities that the festival benefits to reflect the world that we live in and have as much diversity and inclusion as possible. I was very intentional about it, and I’m learning a lot from all these organizations. I’m also excited that the patrons who are watching the shows can get a chance to learn about these charities — because they’re doing such incredible work — and to engage with them in a meaningful way. That’s one of my biggest hopes.
Have you thought about how you want fans to dress, and can you give some style clues for what you want that day to look like?
Whatever people feel comfortable rocking out in is what I think they should wear. I just want people to feel comfortable, confident, and happy. This festival is so much about trying to cultivate joy in the face of adversity, so as long as people are having a grand old time, I’m happy”.
I do think that we could benefit from having a festival like this in the U.K. I do know that there are smaller festivals that are all-female. That is brilliant, but one that can do something similar to Daisy Chain Fields, where we get slightly bigger or more established acts. There is no shortage of artists who could play. Olivia Dean seems like the first obvious name. Having an America artist or two in there. Having it as a one-day event and perhaps pushing it towards autumn – as the weather is less severe and it will be more manageable -, it would ensure that queens are up front. I suspect that major festivals next year are going to be male=heavy regarding their headliners. Many festivals still are not gender-balanced across their line-up. We do not have anything like Daisy Chain Fields in the U.K. In terms of the calibre of the artists all sharing the bill. Though there are all-female festivals and events. In June, LOUD WOMEN highlighted their own event. Writing how women are shaping music:
“It’s a remarkable snapshot of where women in music are right now: established icons sharing space with newer artists who are redefining what success looks like for the next generation.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, our friend Lauren Estelle Jones has announced God Save The Queens, a historic celebration marking 50 years of she-punk. Taking place in Londonon 16 October, the event features LOUD WOMEN favourites Big Joanie alongside Essential Logic, Gina Birch and HotWax, bringing together artists whose influence can still be heard across punk and alternative music today.
What strikes me about these announcements is that they’re not simply celebrating women who are making music right now. They’re celebrating the entire lineage. The pioneers who kicked down doors. The artists carrying that legacy forward. And the musicians who are only just picking up their first instruments.
Here at LOUD WOMEN, we’re proud to be part of that story. We’ve already announced lineups for Bristol, Dublin and our biggest event of the year, LOUD WOMEN Fest London. Before that, we’ll be back at Rebellion Festival, where the LOUD WOMEN stage continues to introduce thousands of punk fans to artists from around the world. We’re also putting the finishing touches to festivals in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Colorado, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
From California to Blackpool, from London to Tokyo, women and non-binary musicians are creating some of the most exciting music being made anywhere right now. More importantly, they’re creating spaces where the next generation can see themselves reflected”.
I realise that smaller festivals struggle and many are disappearing, though there is definitely room for another all-female festival. If a major artist in the U.K. curated it and did something similar to Daisy Chain Fields Festival, it would give pause to a lot of major festivals who are not booking enough women and there are relatively few female headliners. Glastonbury might be the most gender-balanced, though they are terrible when it comes to putting women on the Pyramid Stage. I have no idea why that is, and I hope 2027 is a year when they have at least two female headliners – which has only occurred once since they started in the 1970s – and, God forbid, they have an all-female line-up. That has never happened at Glastonbury. Things do need to change, as women are shaping and pushing music forward. It would be amazing to join LOUD WOMEN and those already doing incredible work. A big one-day festival where it is all-female. Putting these queens onto the stage and…
WATCHING them slay!