With concert culture ramping up and everyone busy gig-maxxing their way through the year, it’s a pretty good time to be a music fan in India. Olivia Dean has confirmed that she will be performing at Lollapalooza next year, and there’s plenty more to look forward to. But over the last weekend I found myself wishing I could teleport to California for Daisy Chain Fields. It is exactly the kind of festival I want to be at. Olivia Rodrigo brought her all-female-led festival to life, taking inspiration from Lilith Fair and putting together a lineup that felt designed to make you jealous if you weren’t there: Chappell Roan, Mitski, Doechii, Bikini Kill, Garbage, The Breeders and Rodrigo herself, with Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette joining her on stage.
There’s an India connect here too. Riya Mahesh, who performs as Quiet Light, caught my ear, and I’m going to need you to listen to her and thank me later.
But it was everything around the music that really got me. Fountains full of beads, strangers exchanging tiny handmade bracelets and stickers, giant flowers everywhere, and artists and artisans brought in to make these wonderfully colourful festival props. Even the camera crew was mostly women. It all sounded so wholesome and so intentional. And then there’s the fact that the festival actually gives back. Rodrigo’s $10 million donation to 10 charities was matched by Melinda French Gates, taking the total to $20 million for causes including reproductive rights. All of this is to say, I would very much like to be there next year. Preferably covered in glitter and carrying a giant flower home.
