Irvine Wants Daisy Chain Fields Back in 2027
An aerial view of the thousands of concertgoers who filled the Great Park on Aug. 29 for the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields music festival. Irvine hopes to do it all again in 2027.
Photo credit City of Irvine
After bringing 45,000 ticket holders and some of the biggest names in music to the Great Park, Daisy Chain Fields could be back in Irvine next year.
City officials are already in discussions with festival promoter C3 Presents about a possible return in 2027. Several dates have been offered by the city for concert organizers to consider.
“The likelihood of them returning is pretty high,” Irvine Director of Communications and Engagement Melissa Haley told The Vine in a recent phone call.
The inaugural women-led festival, created by Grammy-winning singer Olivia Rodrigo, took over the Great Park on Saturday. The lineup included Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Garbage, Bikini Kill, The Breeders and surprise guests Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, and Stevie Nicks. After Rodrigo announced the festival had raised $10 million for philanthropic organizations supporting women and girls, Melinda French Gates took to the stage with an announcement of her own: she would match that amount with an additional $10 million donation.
Rodrigo appeared to signal plans for a second year when she ended the festival by telling the crowd “See you next year!” She later described seeing the event come together as “the greatest joy of my career” in an Instagram post. The feeling from Irvine city officials, was entirely mutual.
“To host a festival of that size, with that lineup, with that vision to raise $20 million for the advancement of women and girls, to be part of an inaugural event of that magnitude is so special,” she said.
For Irvine, bringing Daisy Chain Fields back could build on what city officials see as an important milestone for the Great Park. It would also give Irvine and festival organizers an opportunity to iron out some of the wrinkles that emerged during this first year.
Getting into the festival went relatively smoothly, Haley said, with concertgoers arriving throughout the day. Rideshares and shuttles brought some of the approximately 45,000 attendees from Discovery Park, UC Irvine, and OCVibe in Anaheim. About 3,000 parking spaces were available onsite.
But getting out proved more difficult. Haley said attendees reported sitting in parking lots for an hour or longer after the festival. Others had trouble connecting with rideshare drivers because of traffic, road closures and poor cell service.
According to Haley, the city plans to review the transportation plan and identify areas that can be improved.
“We can always learn from what we’re doing and do better,” she said. “Customer service and providing exceptional quality of service is foundational for us.”
The red line in this map shows the planned extension of Marine Way. The road will also be widened from a two lanes to four.
Image credit City of Irvine
One major improvement may already be on the way. Marine Way is expected to eventually extend through the Great Park and connect Sand Canyon to Bake Parkway. The Marine Way extension would provide another route for moving traffic in and out of the park. Haley said the city will also look into additional signage and wayfinding for visitors, particularly after dark.
The city will also debrief with C3 Presents about other issues from the day, including long food lines and the challenges created by temperatures in the 90s. Although some complained about access to water, Haley said multiple hydration stations were available throughout the festival. She said staff were also distributing boxes of water near the stages.
Despite those issues, Haley said the festival demonstrated the type of major event the city has envisioned for the Great Park. That became clear, she explained, while riding the Great Park Balloon with other event photographers during Doechii’s performance.
“You could just see this blanket of people dancing and having fun,” Haley said. “I could see, wow, look at what’s underway at the park right now.”
Now Irvine may get the opportunity to do it again.