5 days, 55 female fronted acts & 2 stages... The Daisychain Music Fair connects talented artist with fans for a cause.

You might say the Daisychain Music Fair is a night-blooming garden. Coming up at Southeast Portland’s Mt. Tabor Theater, the homegrown festival and fundraiser will be in season for five days, starting Wednesday. As in its first planting last year, it will feature 55 musical acts between two stages, in the main room and smaller acoustic music room of the converted moviehouse.

Although the event’s organizers take pains to point out its chromosomal inclusiveness – men are welcome here, both onstage and off – Daisychain does have a female raison d’etre: It is a benefit for the Old Town Clinic’s Women’s Safe Passage & Respite Fund, a discretionary fund to provide for various nonmedical needs of women dealing with domestic violence. Hence the focus on presenting pop, folk, and roots-rook act with a female face, as the fair’s participation criteria put it. “Women linking women to a brighter future” is the Daisychain motto.

The lineup this year offers a nice balance between new faces and acts returning from last year. There are well-established performers such as alt-country favorite Little Sue, nationally noted folk duo Tracy Grammer & Dave Carter, seasoned singer songwriter Toni Land and compelling fold-rocker Nicole Campbell. But it’s also a chance to make discoveries, such as the charismatic siter-fronted rock band Jellyhead, engaging folk-pop singer Joy Wilson, Vancouver’s quirkey Tofu Groove Girls or tongue-in-cheek retro rockers the Ditty Twisters.