Daisy Chain Fields makes political statement
By Gabby Roscuata, September 15, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo has been in the spotlight of mainstream popular culture since 2021 but has not been afraid to voice her political stance. Among her generation’s crop of emerging pop artists, Rodrigo’s own Daisy Chain Fields festival proves you do not have to sacrifice success to be vocal about global issues.
While politics has always been intertwined with music, Rodrigo is one of Gen Z’s distinct figures pushing the envelope on what it means to be a pop artist. With the rise of diaristic confessional music, spearheaded by Rodrigo’s past musical inspiration Taylor Swift, then succeeded by artists like Gracie Abrams and Reneé Rapp, Rodrigo used vulnerable songwriting as credibility instead of it being a flaw, according to musical coach Laura Ortiz Tadeo.
With the back-to-back success of her first three albums, Rodrigo introduced her all-women charity festival as a spiritual successor to the late ‘90s Lilith Fair festival, which was risky but a powerful statement to make. Daisy Chain Fields took place Aug. 29 in Irvine, California, drawing approximately 45,000 attendees who shared an unwritten understanding about the safe space they were in.
Rodrigo does not simply say she supports something, she puts money where her mouth is. Daisy Chain Fields raised $10 million for organizations supporting women and their rights with beneficiaries including the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Rodrigo even got a blessing from Lilith Fair’s co-founder Sarah McLachlan as a surprise guest, matching the amount raised and doubling the total to $20 million.
Computer information systems student Danny Hernandez Gonzalez went to the festival to support his favorite artists but also appreciated knowing his money was going to a great cause.
“Usually, every single concert that I’ve been to, I spent $1,000 per concert, but I don’t see where that money goes to,” Hernandez Gonzalez said. “There’s no transparency. With this festival, it’s like, ‘This is what we’re going to do, and all the net proceeds are going to this organization.’”
As a festivalgoer, Hernandez Gonzalez said the crowd was friendly and accepting among many women and LGBTQ+ members. He said despite the heat and long lines, he was met with kindness.
At a time when political issues dominate the news, he said it was important for someone with a voice as big as Rodrigo’s to speak up.
“Even if one person starts the chain, it makes a chain reaction,” Hernandez Gonzalez said. “It’s going to keep going over and over and over again.”
The lineup included many different pop artists like Doechii, who called out the trump administration’s military deployment against immigration raids, and Chappell Roan who hired drag queens for her shows and started the “Midwest Princess Project” to raise funds for transgender youth.
In today’s climate, I find it important to uphold and embolden spaces, like Daisy Chain Fields, that protect feminist expression with love and jubilance. Femininity is subconsciously looked down upon. According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, femmephobia, the devaluation of femininity for any gender, was found to be a likely predictor of homophobic behavior than other variables like narcissism and right-wing authoritarianism. For instance, women are ridiculed for being a fangirl of feminine artists like Rodrigo, and men are ridiculed for wearing makeup and are not considered manly if they do.
Even language revolves around imbalanced gender roles. Being “the man” is considered strong, while being a “girl” is considered weak. Having a space like Daisy Chain Fields, led by Rodrigo, who makes rock music, which is a historically male-dominated genre, diversifies the ideas people have of who can make what kind of music.
Many artists have shied away from being the forefront of politics because it can isolate their audience. Swift, mainly avoiding politics until 2018 when she made a statement on Instagram telling followers to register to vote then, a year later, released songs like “You Need To Calm Down” and “The Man,” which were fairly ground-level and felt more like white-feminism more than anything.
Rodrigo’s festival excels at its concept because it was done with intent. Her efforts come off as something she naturally wanted to do, as opposed to how pop artists have come across as apolitical in recent years. For example, newer artists like Ella Langley, Stella Lefty and Alex Warren entirely avoided the topic of politics.
Given she has called out President Donald Trump for using her music in his content, has an initiative called “Fund 4 Good” and donated more than $2 million from her “GUTS” World Tour, Rodrigo’s efforts feel genuine.
This contrasts with attempts like Katy Perry’s “Woman’s World,” which tried to disguise itself as a feminist anthem, but comes off poorly because it was produced by Dr. Luke, who pop artist Kesha sued for sexual assault, gender violence and sexual harassment.
Gen Z pop artist Tate McRae has also been at the forefront of allegations that she is a Trump supporter.Despite being Canadian, McRae faced criticism after collaborating with country artist Morgan Wallen, who had a resurfaced video of him saying a racial slur in 2021.
In an interview, McRae said, “I think it’s pretty obvious what kind of person I am and the things I support.”
This was vague compared to Rodrigo’s unbridled passion to speak up without being mysterious to preserve a few extra dollars.
Rodrigo released a charity single in support of Daisy Chain Fields, “Serena Joy,” Aug. 21, which paired well with the festival’s mission statement, not sidelining the political stance she is taking. With the chorus “If they do it to them, they’ll do it to you,” Rodrigo warns the imaginative woman, inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale” character the song is named after, that the system she protects will not hesitate to shut her out either.
