Reconnecting With The Lilith Fair
Written by man on March 9th, 2010 in Uncategorized.
The first Lilith Fair was in 1997. The brain child of Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, it would introduce summer festival goers to a female-centric music experience for the first time ever. McLachlan had grown tired of the lack of female musicians at other festivals. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one, since the Fair became a massive success. Although it hasn’t taken place in over a decade, the festival is gearing up for another tour in 2010.
Although the new lineup has yet to be revealed, a list of prior festival acts include Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Joan Osmond and Lisa Loeb. With that kind of star power, it’s no wonder the tour was such a success. Current acts that would fit the bill include such newcomers as KT Tunstall and Colbie Caillat. There’s no doubt many younger female musicians were influenced by the concert and would be honored to play at the revival.
The Fair is really more of a community experience as opposed to a gathering of a bunch of spectators. If the revival is anything like the late nineties’ version, don’t be surprised if you see a person or two whip out their Takamine acoustic guitar and break into song. There’s a campfire vibe to the whole thing, which is what some people loved about it.
Although immensely popular, this tour has always been seen as a ‘love it or hate it’ kind of event. Many naysayers gave it derogatory nicknames such as ‘Girlapalooza’ and far worse. The same people would often depict the average audience member as some sort of biker woman wearing a black helmet. However, this was clearly untrue, as any actual attendees could attest.
The fair was an all-around cultural force, spreading its impact not only to the music industry, but to the fashion world as well. Many new trends and styles evolved through the hordes of fans that congregated. Although biker jackets made little-to-no appearance, there was no shortage of audience members who seemed to have donned their best eye cream for the masses of people watchers.
Those who were unable to attend the original tour might be inclined to think the audience was entirely female. This is not true. Although the acts were all women musicians, the crowd was quite diverse, which was proven through the sheer number of concert goers tallied over the summers.
So after ten years, the Lilith Fair is back. It will give former concert goers a chance to live out their heyday from the late nineties while allowing the next generation to experience just what made it so special. If it’s anywhere near as successful as previous tours, this revival is sure to be one of many to come.
