{"id":74443,"date":"2025-09-20T01:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/74443\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T01:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:28:11","slug":"lilith-fair-building-a-mystery-documentary-takeaways-from-the-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/74443\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’ Documentary: Takeaways From the Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn the beginning, all Sarah McLachlan<\/a> wanted was to prove to music industry gatekeepers that female artists could sell concert tickets. The \u201cSweet Surrender\u201d singer had a simple, untested idea: put multiple women on a single concert bill and see what happens. Her grand experiment, called \u201cLilith Fair<\/a>\u201d (after Adam\u2019s mythologized first wife who left the Garden of Eden because she viewed herself as an equal) proved the theory \u2014 and then some.<\/p>\n

\n\tLilith Fair, which ran for three summers from 1997 to 1999 (plus a few experimental dates in 1996), is now the subject of a new documentary titled Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery<\/a> \u2014 The Untold Story. Directed by Ally Pankiw, Building a Mystery features never-before-seen archival footage of each year at Lilith Fair, plus interviews with many of its key players: McLachlan, Sheryl Crow<\/a>, Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin, Erykah Badu, Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, and Jewel, among others.\u00a0ABC News Studios will release the film, which includes Diane Sawyer as an executive producer, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on Sept. 21.<\/p>\n

\n\tAcross the better part of two hours, artists, crew members, and festival organizers look back at how Lilith Fair shifted the paradigm of the music industry and pop culture by featuring an all-women bill, a diverse spectrum of genres, and offer a safe space for music fans of every age, gender, and racial background. Meanwhile, Building a Mystery also addresses challenges the festival faced: Even as they sold out venues and raised considerable sums for charity, critics and culture writ large tended to dismiss the festival as little more than a chick fest for overly earnest cat ladies.<\/p>\n

\n\tNearly 30 years after the inaugural edition, Building a Mystery offers an opportunity to retell the festival\u2019s origin story. Ahead of the documentary\u2019s premiere, here\u2019s a rundown of everything we learned from going behind the scenes at Lilith Fair.<\/p>\n

\t\tPrior to Lilith Fair, radio stations were discouraged from playing women-led songs back-to-back <\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen talking about the creation of Lilith Fair, Sarah McLachlan<\/a> outlined the male-dominated industry landscape she and her peers were up against when promoting their music in the early Nineties. For instance, not only were radio DJs and programmers discouraged from playing songs by female acts back-to-back out of a concern that listeners would switch the station, culturally women artists tended to be lumped together, treated as an industry fad, and pitted against one another where sales were concerned. \u201cIf you play too many female acts, the hard-to-soft balance will be upset,\u201d XTRA-FM (91X) San Diego Program Manager Kevin Stapleford is quoted as saying. \u201cYou must be careful \u2014 it\u2019s dangerous to play too much of anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI remember every time I\u2019d go to a radio station and they\u2019d play a song, they\u2019d be like, \u2018Yeah, yeah, it\u2019s a really great song, but you know, we added Tracy Chapman this week.\u2019 Or \u2018We added Jewel this week,\u2019\u201d McLachlan recalls to filmmakers. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018And? What\u2019s that got to do with me? Those are all very different artists.\u2019 \u2026We all got lumped into the same category\u2026 It just never made any sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was the same issue on the live-music side, where promoters were reluctant to put two (or more) women on the same bill out of a concern that tickets wouldn\u2019t sell, a theory Former President of Sony Music Canada Denise Donlon calls \u201cabsolutely ridiculous\u201d in the doc.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, the female artists that were popular at the time \u2014 Jewel, Liz Phair, McLachlan, Crow, Suzanne Vega, and more \u2014 were under enormous pressure to dress more revealingly. \u201cI was sent to a magazine shoot, and they asked me to wear trousers and suspenders that just went over my nipples,\u201d Phair says in the documentary. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019m devalued. Everything that I was good at, that I was skilled at, that I worked my entire life for boiled down to, \u2018Do her tits look good?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\t\tFemale performers were initially cautious about committing to an all-women lineup\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAt first, McLachlan\u2019s idea for an all-women music festival met with some resistance, not only from talent bookers but from female performers themselves. Interviewed for the documentary, three-time Lilith performer Suzanne Vega said: \u201cAt first I didn\u2019t get it. I thought, \u2018Why is [Sarah] making this all-female show? And she explained to me that this was deliberate\u2026 to show the promoters that you could have an all-female lineup and it would do well. And I thought, \u2018Sign me up.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLisa Loeb, who also performed all three years at Lilith, shared Vega\u2019s trepidation, telling filmmakers, \u201cMy immediate reaction was, \u2018I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s a good idea, I don\u2019t really want to be grouped with a bunch of women musicians. I went to an all-girls school where I really didn\u2019t want to be seen as just another girl who plays guitar.\u2019 But then I heard about who else was on the bill, and it was Sarah, Paula Cole, Aimee Mann, Patti Smith\u2026 So I said, \u2018Yes, for sure, I would love to do it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a similar vein, organizers even had trouble securing sponsors for Lilith Fair. McLachlan\u2019s former manager Marty Diamond tells filmmakers how the team asked a water company if they\u2019d like to come on as sponsor, only to be told, \u201cNo, we\u2019re kinda really focusing on a male audience.\u201d Diamond remembers replying, \u201cIt\u2019s water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tThe Indigo Girls made Lilith Fair feel more collaborative among its headliners\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls<\/a> got to Lilith Fair, Jewel tells filmmakers how the folk-rock duo brought a greater sense of ease backstage, calling them \u201cthe greeters of the tour.\u201d When Ray and Saliers arrived, they invited the rest of the musicians to collaborate onstage, which inspired Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Meredith Brooks, and other headliners to get onstage with them.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEarly on, Amy and Emily were like, \u2018Ok, who\u2019s going to sing with us?\u2019\u201d McLachlan remembers, noting how the rest of the Lilith headliners were pleasantly taken aback. Ray and Saliers\u2019 nudging resulted in Lilith Fair closing out the night with a group performance of the duo\u2019s 1989 anthem \u201cCloser to Fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI had a sense that people were a little scared, \u2019cause we were, like, so gay, and so puppy dog-like, fanning out on everybody,\u201d Ray laughs in the doc. \u201cThe representation for women in rock music wasn\u2019t there, and then particularly for queers,\u201d Saliers adds. \u201cWe really had to find a lot of our own way. We wanted a broader audience, and we thought, \u2018This is a great opportunity, [to collaborate].\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tSarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, and Shawn Colvin almost boycotted the 1998 Grammys\u2019 \u2018Lilith Medley<\/strong>\u2018\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 1998 Grammy Awards reflected Lilith Fair\u2019s immense success, with McLachlan, Cole, Jewel, Crow, Brooks, and Shawn Colvin being nominated for multiple trophies. Colvin won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for \u201cSunny Came Home,\u201d and Cole won Best New Artist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the women ultimately felt tokenized by producers deciding to group McLachlan, Cole, and Colvin together for one medley Grammys performance. \u201cEvery single song that was nominated for Record of the Year should have had their own spot,\u201d Colvin tells filmmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt the beginning of it, we were like, \u2018This is bullshit. The other nominees \u2014 Hanson and R. Kelly \u2014 got to perform on their own. So why lump us all together?\u201d McLachlan adds, remembering how the group nearly boycotted. \u201cUltimately, the decision was, \u2018We\u2019ll do it. We\u2019re not happy about it, but this is not the hill we\u2019re going to die on today.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEven more unsettling was the press reaction to Cole, who lifted her hand during the set to reveal unshaven armpits, prompting cruel headlines and late-night bits mocking her appearance. \u201cI was so angry for Paula, to be diminished like that, after such a huge night. Who cares? But that\u2019s what it became about,\u201d McLachlan recalls.<\/p>\n

\t\tMissy Elliott literally hitched a ride to Lilith \u201898 when her tour bus broke down\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAs overwhelmingly popular as Lilith Fair was, it also met with understandable criticism around its lack of racial diversity. In the doc, Diamond remembers how the press would sometimes refer to the festival as \u201cLily-white Fair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, McLachlan made a point to diversify the festival\u2019s lineup, adding artists like neo-soul luminary Erykah Badu and hip-hop greats Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott<\/a>, the latter of whom had never actually toured prior to Lilith. In fact, Elliott nearly missed her performance slot because her tour bus broke down on the highway. Festival organizers remember Elliott pulling up last minute in a red convertible \u2014 she\u2019d managed to hitch a ride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBy expanding its lineup past folk-rock or folk-adjacent genres, Lilith Fair increased its commercial viability and introduced listeners to artists with whom they might not have otherwise been familiar. \u201cI know that being part of Lilith Fair expanded my audience greatly,\u201d Badu tells filmmakers. \u201cPeople who would not get to hear of an Erykah Badu or listen to even my type of genre of music were exposed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tMany of Lilith\u2019s critics were women<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEarly on, there were a lot of female critics who kind of ripped the crap out of us,\u201d McLachlan says in the doc. One of those detractors was comedian Sandra Bernhard, who is shown joking about how she can\u2019t take any more \u201cwaifish, alternative singers\u201d in her 1998 standup special, I\u2019m Still Here\u2026 Damn It!<\/p>\n

\n\tAgain, McLachlan met the moment by inviting Bernhard to perform at Lilith Fair and witness what the festival was all about for herself. \u201cBefore I knew that much about it, I just assumed it was [a] Ladies of the Canyon vibe,\u201d Bernhard says in the doc. \u201cThe earnestness of it made it so that it was not to be taken as seriously as it should have been. I was poking at it. Why was I poking at it? Because I would really like to be hanging out with all of these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSimilarly, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders \u201cwas not a big advocate\u201d of Lilith Fair, as organizers recall. \u201cShe came on with a bit of an attitude, [saying], \u2018I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing here with you bitches,\u2019\u201d McLachlan adds. \u201cAnd as shows went on, she warmed up and went, \u2018Oh, actually this is really fun.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tSinead O\u2019Connor and Natalie Merchant found a safe space at Lilith Fair<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the Irish singer-songwriter infamously ended her 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live by tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II, her protest drew significant criticism from mainstream audiences, fellow performers such as Frank Sinatra and Madonna, and the press. In 1998, O\u2019Connor came on for a guest performance at Lilith Fair, prompting a flurry of excitement from its headliners, who provided something of a safe space for O\u2019Connor at a time when she needed one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTo find that I was so respected by those women was a major boost to my confidence and self-esteem,\u201d O\u2019Connor says in archival footage, calling Lilith \u201ca very healing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSinead was really important for me to have on because I was so in awe of her and her immense power,\u201d McLachlan says.<\/p>\n

\n\tSimilarly, year two headliner Natalie Merchant says she felt revitalized by surrounding herself with women at Lilith Fair 1998. \u201cWhen I left 10,000 Maniacs after 12 years of feeling like I was the last woman on earth, I had made a concerted effort to distance myself from what was going on in the business of music,\u201d she says in the doc. \u201cBut Lilith was gentle and friendly, and I loved that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tLilith Fair also provided a safe and welcome environment for new moms<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNot only did audiences bring their young children and infants to the festival, headlining artists who happened to be new mothers at the time felt comfortable bringing their babies on tour. Lilith was singular in how it let women\u2019s musicianship mingle with their motherhood, where most touring environments would be the precise opposite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was a new mom,\u201d Badu tells filmmakers. \u201cI was going through the changes that we go through as women. And they really catered to my feminine emotions and sensibilities and needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMerchant adds: \u201cWhat I value was the tangibility that I saw of mothering and being an artist coexisting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tThe festival hosting Planned Parenthood \u201creally flipped people out\u201d<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were like a gentle threat for some people,\u201d Diamond says in the doc, recalling how the festival including Planned Parenthood as a sponsor created controversy, with pro-life protesters tending to crowd the audience entrance and, in more extreme cases, call in bomb threats. Headliner Joan Osborne was particularly outspoken about the festival\u2019s firm pro-choice stance, remembering how Lilith Fair\u2019s Texas venue tried to exclude the local Planned Parenthood affiliate from the event. \u201cI have a long history working with Planned Parenthood, so it just incensed me,\u201d Osborne tells filmmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the end, Planned Parenthood was permitted to stay at its location in The Village, which hosted a number of charitable outlets within Lilith, but artists were asked not to talk about the org. \u201cI did not make that compromise,\u201d Osborne says. \u201cI put my whole band in \u2018I Am The Face Of Pro-Choice Texas\u2019 T-shirts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was enthralled and envious of her strength and \u2018fuck you-ness,\u2019\u201d McLachlan also recalls of the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\t\tLilith Fair forever altered the way its performers viewed their place in the music industry\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\tEven though Lilith Fair ceased to run after 1999, its presence inspired massive change in the music industry. For starters, radio promoters and DJs did start playing female artists back to back, and Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, and Jill Scott went on to found the R&B and hip-hop touring festival Sugar Water, which ran from 2005 to 2006.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI had talked to Sarah a few times, and I remember her saying, \u2018We proved our point,\u2019\u201d Crow says in the doc. \u201c\u2018This can exist, now it\u2019s time for women to go out and create their own small Liliths.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the beginning, all Sarah McLachlan wanted was to prove to music industry gatekeepers that female artists could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[18,117,19,17,50763,327,50764],"class_list":{"0":"post-74443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-lilith-fair","13":"tag-movies","14":"tag-sarah-mclachlan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}