Back From the Grave: Lilith Fair

And if that sends a Halloween shudder down your spine, well... you're not alone. Somebody let Fred Durst know about this.

By Blurt Staff

Well, it's been practically an all-distaff day in the Blurt news department, what with fresh items posted this morning and this afternoon on such fine ladies as Allison Moorer, Sasha Grey and Bono... er, and also the Dexateens, but work with us here. So word arrives now of the imminent return of... Lilith Fair.

Yes, THAT Lilith Fair, the ‘90s estrogen fest co-founded by Sarah McLachlan whose reputation for crunchiness was sometimes deserved and sometimes not-so deserved. Well, it foisted Jewel on the world, which counts as an unpardonable sin, so.. But to detractors, it probably didn't help that the same era also brought the rise of rap-rock and mook-metal as epitomized by Limp Bizkit, Korn and Tool. Rock's never been an equal opportunity employer - and it shouldn't be, of course, but it's also a shame that the guys' exploits have always overshadowed the gals' endeavors.

Of course, the Lilith organizers went laughing to the bank 'cos the event was one of the summer's perennial hot tickets. Check these factoids:

From 1997 through 1999, Lilith Fair was one of the highest grossing touring festivals in the world, with over 1.5 million fans in attendance and raising over $10 million dollars for national and local charities.  Founded by Grammy-award winning artist Sarah McLachlan along with Dan Fraser, Marty Diamond and Terry McBride, Lilith Fair was the only tour of its kind-a celebration of women in music featuring artists like Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera, Erykah Badu, The Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliot, The Pretenders, Nelly Furtado, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Joan Osborne, Queen Latifah, Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara and of course, Sarah McLachlan.

That's a lotta damn dough, yo.

So today, the official Lilith 2010 website launches, not only revealing the new look and feel of Lilith a decade later, but also the first set of cities that the traveling festival will be hitting -New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and more.  Check out www.lilithfair.com for the complete list. 

"I can't reveal anything further now," says LF co-founder (and Nettwerk Records CEO) Terry McBride,  "but I can assure fans that we have some exciting announcements over the course of the following weeks, from confirmed artists to additional cities to innovative social initiatives. Lilith 2010 is very much upon us."

Lilith 2010 promises to be a much bigger summer festival than it was in the past, traveling for the first time overseas and celebrating a mix of international artists and local up-and-comers.  To capture the new energy of Lilith, Vancouver's Traction Creative was brought on board to reinvigorate the Lilith brand - the new look is revealed today for the first time with the launch of the website.

Hey Terry, just promise us - no Jewel, hokay?