Lilith Fair: The RISE & FALL of the All-Girl Festival
The rise and fall of Lilith Fair.
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But even some of the female artists who’d later become part of Lilith Fair would have to be convinced of its value. What’s funny is that Lilith Fair was not the first women’s music festival as the folky Michigan Womyn’s Festival — had already been going on for 2 decades, until it called it a day in 2015. Sheryl Crow would tell vanity fair in 2019
I remember talking to my agent about touring with another female, and the response was, “You don’t want to do that because it won’t sell tickets.”. But by the 90’s things had changed from a decade prior and either managers or record labels weren’t paying as close of attention as they should have. According to the LA Times women for the first time became the biggest purchasers of music–going from 43% in 1988 to 51.4% by 1997.
The full-fledged version of Lilith Fair kicked off in 1997 with 30 plus stops across North America with 60 plus artists. Regarding the name, it came from a biblical character, Adam’s wife who refused his orders to leave Eden. McLaughlin produced the festival in conjunction with Nettwerk Music Group’s Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond.
It helped that Sarah had a huge album that year as well – 1997’s grammy award winning Surfacing – which featured the popular songs like “Angel” about the overdose of the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and “building a mystery.”
The album sold 16 million copies worldwide and offered the perfect publicity to help bring some buzz to her new festival The 1997 incarnation of Lilith Phair was the top grossing touring festival of the year, outpacing lollapalooza. By the end of the decade it became the top grossing festival of the late 1990s.
Over the three years of the festival, there’d be 135 shows in cities mostly in the U.S. but along with a few dates in Canada as well. Featuring well known acts like Jewel, Sheryl Crowd, Liz Phair, Fiona Apple Paula Cole, Lisa Loeb, Jewel and Sheryl Crow.
The festival featured 3 stages – the Main Stage, Second Stage and Village Stage. The Village stage was for up and coming talent. Two artists that broke out in part thanks to their features on the Village Stage were Dido and Christina Aguilera.
Yet, even with all that commercial and artistic success, or maybe because of it, the festival came under harsh scrutiny, even from other female artists.
In a 1997 interview with Rolling Stone, Shirley Manson from Garbage criticized the tour saying:
“I think they only showed one side of who women are — it was this cozy, middle-class, we-all-love-each-other and share-a-view-of-the-world and let’s-hold-hands-and-go-forth-unto-the-world and show-how-great-we-are thing. And there’s a million other women who don’t feel that Lilith said anything for them. That said, Lilith is important because there are women who really do need fellowship and support. Because not everyone is like me — a loudmouthed f–ker.”
In addition, the tour was attacked by music critics, the Christian right and other feminists. In the Dallas observer, critic Gina Arnold wrote “It is, in short, a total crock of sh*t.” The LA Times would highlight some other criticisms the festival dealt with including being called “Girlapalooza” . . . “Lesbopalooza” . . .
Critics of the tour called it exclusionary to men however the road crew and backup musicians were men in some cases.
The final Lilith fair in 1999 saw, Prince, who was going as “The Artist” as the time, also joined the festival for one show, performing “Everyday is a Winding Road” with Sheryl Crow. In interviews, Sarah McL often questioned why people assumed that celebrating women meant denigrating men by default. Lilith–attendees were made up of 30% men. Critics also lambasted the festival for not being diverse enough when it came to the artists on the bill, at least for the first year of the festival.
In response to these critiques and especially out of the fear that Lilith Fair would come off as simply a folk festival, festival producers who were flush with cash, greatly expanded the tiypes of artists and genres that were included in the 1998 edition including hip hop, most notably featuring missy elliott. The organizers also bumped up the number of shows from 37 to 57.
@jamessteffany9228
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
The name Lilith comes from bible, she was adams first wife who rejected god's laws!! Thus becoming a she devil!! A demon!! origins of evil!! Should have chosen a better name!!👁😈🤔
@samseven5260
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Misandry of the 90’s. Funny how gender and race exclusivity only works in certain cases. Flip the script and the outcome is career ending rage and cancellation. I’ve been playing all my life, and have enjoyed some of Sara’s music, but most of this festival was simply not appealing to me or most people I know. I’d have to be in Maynard’s camp on this… the acoustic strumming females and overall attitude aren’t something I’d stand in line for.
@tomjoad9447
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
If you over diversify it, it speaks to no one… humanity is diverse and homogenization doesn't work… so trying to diversify the artists and music made it unappealing to EVERYONE… let's remember the wicked big money scum wanted a piece of the action and used the "no diversity" nonsense to destroy what they couldn't control.
@gracebingle6322
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It wasn’t a flop😭😭
@tommyvergason
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
What a strange and shitty headline
@Handle1978
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Missed this one, great vid
@mccod035
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
what is with your dumb flopped title!!!? This didn't flop at all. This was very successful.
@kristinsdick3787
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Would be cool to see your perspective after watching the new documentary that came out about Lilith Fair!
Also thousands of people flocked to these shows and such amazing artists played. so no flop there 😊
@mrsjohnson1743
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Clickbait. It didn't flop. It ran a decent course.
@C.SchitzPopinov
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Saying Lilith Fair flopped is like saying the hippies failed.
They are now one of the richest generation.
Lilith Fair’s audience grew up to influence the next generation.
@joygernautm6641
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It was not a flop. Click bait moron.
@kuntidevi
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
I submitted a song for one the first Lilith Fair. And I got chosen to be one of the performers in the concert.
When I got there to perform, they literally attacked me.
I was almost 9 months pregnant.
I thought they were disgusted by that and that's why they were treating me like that. I was shocked because it's a concert for women singers and songwriters so it should be okay that I'm pregnant.
They actually did it because in their minds somebody else had submitted that song.
Not sure how they came to that conclusion. Since they were wrong, no one sang the song I submitted.
I've never had justice for what happened to me.
@PSYKSY_
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Maynard James wanted to troll everyone on the stage 😂
@judyalcatraz918
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Oh trust me ….IT DIDNT FLOP
@samslick9000
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
The 2010 revival was simply a cash grab
@999mmj
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Not a flop douchebag
@valco7981
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
The biggest female rock artist of the 90’s was Alanis Morissette and she was never part of the festival.
I never understood why..
Schedule issues, perhaps?
@sopascat7
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
..It wasn’t a flop. I went in 98. It was awesome. Sarah did something no one dared to try. The 90s dominated w/so many female artists. Thats why Sarah’s idea became a success. Today’s people in the music industry, can learn from her examples: Belief. Courage. Faith. Will. Positive.
@tinalongietti4676
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Who said it was a flop?
@zorkpork
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
needed more sausage.
@MaxAtLarge
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
There's big money in the music biz and women doing their own thing
would certainly trigger the industry to try and shut that down!
We need more women in charge in all aspects of society.
Men make short term decisions based on short term gains and
that sucks for the rest of us!
@peterfernandez9670
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Lilith Fair was temporarily revived in 2010
@DelmiraVesna
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
God forbid girls organise an ALL-GIRL line-up, to support each other and have fun, and NOT turn it into a gross male-dominated GRAPE-fest like Woodstock! 🤡
@sandyyorke413
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It was not a flop. Sarah was tired of living on the road for 3 years and wanted to spend time at home with friends and family.
@Captain058
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Thumbnail says "FLOPPED", opening sentence says "multi-year phenomenon". 🤡
@colleensainsbury9022
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Just add on more misogyny😢😢😢😢😢😢. It did not fail. Watch the documentary.
@3DPT
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It wasn't a flop in the 90's, I remember tickets sold out and even scalpers couldn't keep up. The reboot was it's own business cluster because the records tried to cash in on what they didn't care for in the original. If Sarah Mac relaunched it today off her current album she could book her choices of stadiums and rival Taylor Swift. If she got Swift to headline, her foundation would not have a funding issue for a few centuries…
@wendelynmusic
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
I saw Lilith Fair in Vancouver BC. From Mary Jane Lamond to Indigo Girls, Paula Cole and Sarah herself. It was packed and it was awesome..
@julieringer6548
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Chauvanism is the cause of women not dominating the entertainment industry!
@amyrose2692
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Only a man would look at the success of Lilith Fair and call it a flop 🤣🤣🤣
@TheDenaliak
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It wasn’t a flop at all!!! Sold out every show.
@5FnX17
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 pm
It WAS NOT a flop, you fool.
Comments are closed.