Lilith Fair Kicked Off 20 Years Ago Today: Founding Artists Share New Oral History

Chris Pizzello/AP Photo

Lilith Fair Kicked Off 20 Years Ago Today: Founding Artists Share New Oral History

Chris Pizzello/AP Photo

Lilith Fair kicked off 20 years ago today, and to celebrate and commemorate the groundbreaking women-fronted touring festival, Glamour put together an oral history of the event with quotes from performers, promoters, publicists, bookers, music critics, and more. Co-founder Sarah McLachlan is, of course, prominently featured, as are Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Liz Phair, and contemporary artists like Tegan And Sara, SZA, Bethany Cosentino, and Alessia Cara get to say their piece as well. The oral history details the founding of the festival and the three summers it went on — including addressing the lineup’s lack of diversity — and the failed 2010 revival. Artists also speculate on what a modern-day Lilith Fair would look like if it were to ever happen. There’s not much in the way of juicy details, but it is a very interesting read. There’s also a weird little aside from Tool’s Maynard James Keenan about how he tried to get booked for Lilith Fair and was (obviously) rejected:

I asked our booking agent to request an offer to play. He did. They declined. I wanted the “thank you but no thank you” letter to frame. Never got it.

You can check out the oral history here.

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