In late June, global pop star Olivia Rodrigo announced her new music festival, Daisy Chain Fields. The single day event features an all female artist lineup, including Chappell Roan, Doechii, Katseye and Stevie Knicks. It is set to take place on August 29, 2026 at the Great Park in Irvine, Calif.
The Great Park’s balloon and carousel can be seen within the event’s map, suggesting that both will be unavailable for public use on August 29th.
The festival’s presale began at 10 AM on June 24, selling out the event within the hour. Currently, the website features a waitlist for fans who were unable to get tickets. The waitlist requires users to put in a specific number of tickets and their payment information, automatically charging them if tickets become available.
Daisy Chain Fields offered four tiers of tickets, as well as additional bungalows and suites. Children ages 4 and under do not require a paid ticket but must be accompanied by a ticketed adult.
The individual ticket tiers sold are General Admission ($255), GA+ ($355), VIP ($505) and Pit Viewing ($1255). In contrast to the tickets, all kids regardless of age entering a bungalow or suite must have a paid ticket.
Net proceeds from the event goes to various organizations supporting women and girls. These organizations include the National Institute for Reproductive Health, National Women’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood. The full list of benefited organizations are available on the Daisy Chain Fields website.
Olivia Rodrigo is and has been a prominent and vocal advocate for reproductive health and bodily autonomy. During her 2024 GUTS Tour, she partnered with the organization Right by You to provide free contraceptives at her March 12 show in Missouri.
Additionally, Rodrigo launched Fund 4 Good ahead of her GUTS Tour in October 2023, an initiative created to support community-based nonprofits that are focused on building an equitable future for women and girls.
However, Great Park residents are concerned. City of Irvine spokesperson Melissa Haley told the Orange County Register that the festival is expected to draw about 40,000 attendees.
Critical residents point out Great Park’s recent history of traffic and poor planning when it comes to large events.
Last year’s Fourth of July celebration was estimated to have 20,000 attendees. Ultimately, over 40,000 people attended the event. Parking lots were overwhelmed, shuttle systems couldn’t keep up, and Irvine PD efforts to control traffic and crowds were nearly futile.
For residents living in the Great Park area, some online users shared stories of not being allowed into their homes for more than four hours because Irvine PD had closed down all the roads for cars going into the area.
Visitors experienced long delays, impossible parking, and issues entering and exiting the area. The traffic alone made visitors late or unable to even make it inside before turning around and leaving.
If Daisy Chain Fields is estimated to bring 40,000 people to the Great Park, the same amount as the 2025 Fourth of July event, this raises an important question: will the Great Park be able to accommodate such large crowds?
The stakes are much higher with the festival. Fans from all over the country—and possibly even the world—are coming to see their favorite artists. Unlike Irvine residents on the Fourth of July, they cannot afford to turn around and leave. On top of the ticket price, many will pay for flights and hotels, leaving enormous pressure on the city to provide them with the best experience possible.
In early June, the U.S. men’s national soccer team held a public training session at the Great Park ahead of their World Cup games. The City of Irvine held a raffle for passes and 32,000 people applied. In the end, 5,500 fans packed into Irvine’s Championship Soccer Stadium for the practice.
Despite being just ⅛ of the July 4th, 2025 event and the projected Daisy Chain Fields attendees, traffic was still a nightmare for local residents. While 5,500 people were in the stadium, even more eager fans were undoubtedly waiting near the area hoping for a glimpse of the team.
Locals knew to warn each other to avoid Great Park at all costs on Monday, June 8th unless you were looking to sit in traffic.
While the Daisy Chain Fields venue looks to be relatively contained in the Great Park area, surrounded by parking lots or sports fields, additional concerns have been raised about parking. A single parking pass costs $95 and a “Park and Ride Shuttle Pass” (parking at UCI or the Honda Center and taking a shuttle) costs $50.
There are residential areas that are walking distance from the festival’s entrance, making it a possible option for attendees to park on a residential street. This poses major residential traffic issues and could even prevent residents from parking outside their own homes.
These issues and concerns should be addressed by the Irvine City Council and Irvine Police Department, ensuring that there are plans in place to protect residents’ quality of life and minimize discontent in the city.
