Lilith Fair is a musical tour that ran in the summers of 1997, 1998 and 1999. The summer of 2010 marks the return of the Lilith Fair tour and early indications suggest it could again be a great success; at the time of publishing this article the Facebook page for Lilith Fair already has over fifty thousand fans.
History of the Lilith Fair Tour
The first Lilith Fair began in the summer of 1997, but the idea for the tour came in 1996. In her Tuesday, July 28, 1998 CNN Interactive article "Lilith Fair: Lovely, lively and long overdue", Donna Freydkin relates that in 1996, fueled by frustrations with "concert promoters and radio stations refusing to play two female acts back-to-back" musician Sarah McLachlan toured with Paula Cole, to much success. The following year McLachlan, Dan Fraser, Marty Diamond and Terry McBride organized Lilith Fair, which featured many female artists and female led groups.
The title, Lilith Fair, Freydkin claims, also in her CNN Interactive article, comes from "the legendary Lilith, who refused to obey Adam and instead bolted from the Garden of Eden to search the Earth for adventure"; a strong woman not afraid to buck convention. According to Lilith Fair's website (lilithfair.com) in the three years of the tour, "with over 1.5 million fans in attendance and raising over $10 million dollars for national and local charities", the tour was incredibly successful. The tour also drew to it some very popular and talented musical artists including: Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, Dido, Martina McBride and the Dixie Chicks.
Lilith Fair 2010
Lilith Fair is set to return in the summer of 2010, eleven years after the last tour. The tour is set to kick off in Calgary on June 27, and will visit a total of 36 cities in Canada and the United States. At the time of publishing not all of the tour dates have been released, but there are a total of 84 confirmed acts for the tour, with artists visiting one or several stops each. Several artists from past tours are returning in 2010, and many new artists will be joining the tour as well. Returning artists include Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Tegan and Sara, Martina McBride, Emmylou Harris and Chantal Kreviazuk. Some of the new artists include Sugarland, Ingrid Michaelson, Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat and Ke$ha.
Lilith Fair still consists of female artists and female led groups, and the tour's fundraising efforts for charity organizations will also be maintained. According to the Lilith Fair website "$1 from every Lilith ticket sold will be donated to a local charity in each of the 36 cities the festival visits". The Lilith Fair website has also announced that fans are being given a chance to influence where donation dollars go this year. Fans can do this by becoming a fan of Lilith Fair on Facebook, and selecting from options Lilith Fair itself will suggest for each location. Lilith Fair 2010 appears as not only an entertaining experience, but also one that could make a lasting difference in each host community.
Sources:
- Freydkin, Donna. "Lilith Fair: Lovely, lively and long overdue" CNN Interactive Tuesday July 28, 1998
Stephanie Coe - Stephanie Coe graduated from UBCO in 2008 and ever since has been working away at several small creative writing projects. She is excited ...
