Olivia Rodrigo's Daisy Chain Fields Festival Accused of Unpaid Vendor Fees in Public Letter
Mary Chacon, owner of food vendor Ugly Oats Kitchen, has published an open letter on Instagram addressed to Olivia Rodrigo, alleging that organizers of Rodrigo's inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival failed to pay her business its contracted share of sales revenue and mishandled multiple aspects of on-site operations. The single-day event took place in late August at Great Park in Irvine, California, with an all-women lineup including Chappell Roan, Bikini Kill, Doechii and Garbage — a concept modeled on the 1990s Lilith Fair tour. According to NME, Chacon says she contacted Rodrigo's team two days after the event but has still not received her share of sales.
What the letter alleges
Chacon opens by thanking Rodrigo for hosting what she called a safe and historic event, describing her participation as a privilege, and noting that Rodrigo's music had helped her through difficult times. She also says that of the $20 million raised for women on the day, some of it felt like it came at the cost of women vendors.
Her specific complaints include: being told that food running out would result in a fine, prompting her to shut down her own bakery operations to rush-produce thousands of cookies; paying roughly $1,400 in vendor-related fees plus giving up 35% of sales, totaling thousands of dollars in losses; multiple large purchases required on short notice; entry and setup information sent only hours before scheduled arrival, causing access difficulties; low foot traffic in the vendor area, with some attendees saying they didn't know food was available there; and staff not being told where to find food or water, including one employee who vomited from heat exhaustion and could not find a proper meal.
Chacon writes that the production company, DLS, booked too many dessert vendors and not enough food vendors, leaving both vendors and attendees in a difficult position. She described it as the hardest day for the Ugly Oats team, saying the company will need months to recover from the losses. She says she hesitated to go public out of concern for her company's reputation, but ultimately decided to post, hoping for a response and hoping to draw attention to the real conditions faced by women entrepreneurs at events like this.
Daisy Chain Fields and its fundraising
Daisy Chain Fields is Rodrigo's first such event, combining performances with a charitable fundraising mission. Ahead of the festival, Rodrigo announced she would donate $10 million to nonprofit partners, with additional funds raised during the event to support initiatives for women and girls.
The announced beneficiary organizations include Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Center For Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Johns Hopkins Center For Indigenous Health, National Women's Law Center and Planned Parenthood.