@melian9999
It wasn't a flop, you don't need click bait. It had its time in the sun. Lot of great acts played it
@zciliyafilms5508
This is something about 90s music that retrospectives often miss. For a few years in the late 90s the female folk-rock singer was everywhere. Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, these artists were all over the radio. It wasn't always my sound (though I'm glad to hear that Suzanne Vega was one of the founding members; she is so underrated), but this was a huge musical movement that deserves more respect.
@zyxwut321
These tours, festivals, even just individual concerts are often lightning in a bottle. When they work, they capture a moment, a zeitgeist, a mood and current movement. By their very nature, they CAN'T be organically recreated and reproduced, especially not for merely cynical commercial reasons. Lilith Fair had its moment and its contributions and Sarah McLaughlin and all the other artists and those involved with the festival (especially the 1990s iterations of it) can be rightly proud of their work and legacy. It obviously wouldn't work now, and any attempt to resurrect it in the 2020s would be even less successful than its 2010 installment, just like subsequent versions of "Woodstock" were all a disaster. Leave it alone. It had its day.
@TheREALJosephTurner
I went each year to the originals, but I didn't go to the reboot. When planning to go to the first one, everyone I knew was calling it "Lezfest" and were warning me that I wouldn't be welcome there (I come from a small Indiana farming town, and PC really wasn't a thing here yet). I went anyway, because I liked a lot of the artists- but I was curious how it would go, with me being (at the time) a long-hair rocker dude. I ended up being "taken in" by (their words) "a gaggle of lesbians" and had a great time- nothing but love and friendship. For the remaining years, I'd meet up with the same ladies and enjoyed some great music.
@davidlong1786
Being a single male, I went to two Lilith fair concerts back to back in the 90s in Atlanta and loved it. Some of the best sound and song writing I have ever heard. The only thing that kept me from going a third year was increased ticket prices. It wasn't a flop at all.
@Starpilot17
Personally, I don't think there could be another Lilith Fair. It was a product of its time. You'll never have the same kind of female artists in today's mainstream to make it work. You would have to go to the indie market.
@rodroller6634
Sheryl Crow, Sarah Mc, Sam Philips, Belly, Lush, Hole, Varuca Salt, Luscious Jackson, and Liz Phair were all on my playlist. Still listen to them to this day. Loved Lilith Fair when they came through town.
@jaketheman091
Really cool moment in time. Had some of my favorite female singer-songwriters. Interesting how some musicians, even within similar scenes, were cynical about the festival's intention. I didn't know it was Sarah Mclachlan's festival and that its fate was in her hands. Even with the success it had, it must have tough to keep up, especially with the changing times.
@bradbartolo745
I attended the second Lilith Fair tour at the Orlando Fairgrounds with a friend, and we had a blast. Mostly there for Sarah Mclachlan, but enjoyed every artist that performed. Great memories.
@joshuanakagawa9804
I went to the 1997 show at Camden, NJ. I was with my high school girlfriend, and it was a stellar day. Great performances by every artist, but in particular I wanted to see Fiona Apple, as I had missed her show in Philly the year before. When Sarah closed out the evening with Ice Cream, the whole crowd sang along. Great experience; great memories.
@Damocles54
I went one year. It was me and my gf, like 10 other guys with their gfs, and like 10,000 lesbians. It was amazing lol Jokes aside, i really enjoyed it. K's choice on the festival stage was a highlight. I think the Dixie Chick's set was really the only "meh" act for me.
@anthonywheeler2082
I love Sarah McLachlan. She's still performing and putting out new music. It's amazing that she put so much of that money to fund her school and charities across Canada. I wish more musicians did that.
@deboracopeland4795
Went to three of these concerts. In the beginning we could bring a picnic basket. Lots of women with children. The last one I went to they didn’t allow food brought in. The food lines were two hours no lie, the beer line was five minutes. And men started showing up because they thought there would women to meet. Drunk people everywhere. Not a place for children. That was the last one we went to.
@gteltschik
Sarah’s manager was Terry McBride, not Billy. The initial run was a huge success - I believe it was the highest grossing tour one or two of the three years. It ended - as you say - because it was never meant to be an annual event, it made the point about an all-female lineup, and everyone involved wanted a break. The lineups each day varied from good to great, with some amazing acts and collaborations you wouldn’t see anywhere else. Many of the artists would do meet and greets in the village after their set, and Sarah often came out and sang a song on the smaller stages when it was the artists’ last performance of the tour. It wasn’t uncommon to see Sarah, Holly Cole, Sheryl Crow and the like singing background vocals from 15ft away while some of the best musicians from the main stage likewise showed up to jam for that one song. They tried to address the diversity complaints, but honestly a lot of the diverse acts turned them down for one reason or another in the second and third years. The reboot never had a chance, as the culture had shifted and the novelty of an all-female lineup waned. It was also too commercial, which turned off a lot of the original audience. Combined with high ticket prices, they abruptly announced the cancellation of the second half of the tour dates and quietly shut it down, ironically one of the lowest grossing tours that year.
@matt07a74
I just checked out the artists that played: Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Meredith Brooks, The Cardigans, Dido and Pat Benatar. This would've been awesome to go to!!!!
@Merle1987
Not my type of bands, but there's nothing wrong with the idea. It's nice that she donated so much of the money to charity.
@treehann
Thanks for this great retrospective! I think it’s important that this festival happened. Looking back it’s amazing how biased the big folks in music were against women at the time.
@ChrisEck13
When I was in high school one my friends got a few free tickets to Lilith Fair. It was free so our group of 3 guys went. For the most part it was fun, i saw the pretenders, dixie chicks, and Sheryl Crow. Most of crowd was friendly, but there were definitely a few women that didn't want to see guys there. I remember Dixie Chicks playing that "Goodbye Earl" song, I'm pretty sure it was before it was before the video came out and before it was a single. When they sang the "thats when we knew Earl had to die" line, I've never seen such a reaction from a crowd at any show.
@jasongreathouse6661
Don’t get me wrong I went to one when I was younger with my sister and had an amazing time we saw Fiona Apple, McLaughlin among others and we still talk about it to this day we had so much fun. But now when everyone just sounds the same I just don’t think it could continue and be as good.
@SnollygosterStu