Lilth Fair Returns With All-Star Lineup

From 1997 to 1999, Lilth Fair was the music festival for female empowerment. Founded by singer Sarah McLachlan along with Don Fraser, Marty Diamond, and Terry McBride, the festival raised over $10 million for national and local charities thanks to over 1.5 million fans. All the big names of the era made an appearance: Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Missy Elliot, Christina Aguilera, The Dixie Chicks and others. Unfortunately, the Fair's initial agreement only lasted three years, after which McLachlan told CNN, "I have a hard time thinking of what's going be going on next week, much less two years from now. We're going to sit down after '99 and reassess things, probably take a year off."

That year somehow lapsed into ten years until in 2009, Terry McBride announced via Twitter that the festival would return in 2010. In December 2009, Sarah McLachlan and McBride revealed the first set of headliners for the return of Lilith Fair. "The 2010 Lilith Tour isn’t just a celebration of women in music, but a celebration of diverse female voices across all genres. The original Lilith Fair broke down boundaries, and the new tour promises to do the same, with a mix of contemporary and classic, established and up-and-coming artists from the worlds of pop, rock, urban, country and more," McBride said on the fair's website.

Not only will the originators of the festival, like Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Teagan and Sara and Emmylou Harris, return to the 2010 incarnation, the tour has also brought on top female musicians of today. These include Mary J. Blige, Colbie Caillat, Ke$ha, Miranda Lambert and just-announced Kelly Clarkson. The American-Idol winner told MTV News: "I think I'm on Lilith because it's famous for standing for women and strong women and I'm really excited and honored to be in that group and classified as a strong female woman. I'm really excited to be included in that. It's kind of a big deal. It's scary now that we're talking about it."

As with previous Lilith Fairs, 2010's tour will inspire not just through the strong females who perform, but also by giving back. As with the original tour, for every ticket sold, Lilith organizers will donate $1 to the i4c campaign. According to their website, "The i4c Campaign (acronym for 'I foresee a better tomorrow') was created in response to this need. Lilith i4c Campaign incorporates the Arts & Entertainment ('A&E') industry and the general public into the movement to support [triple bottom line] companies that will drive a responsible economy."

For the first time in its history, the 2010 Lilith Fair will be a worldwide event. The tour has yet to announce any dates, but head over to the website to see if it's coming to a city near you.

Photo by vagueonthehow via Flickr.