Before Sarah McLachlan founded Lilith Fair in 1996, the idea of a festival featuring all-female acts was something a male-dominated music industry felt was a recipe for financial disaster. McLachlan disagreed and set forth to prove the naysayers wrong. According to an article on CNN, the festival is named after the legendary Lilith, who refused to obey Adam and instead bolted from the Garden of Eden to search the Earth for adventure. McLachlan herself would not cave in to concert promoters and radio stations refusing to play two female acts back-to-back. She began touring with Paula Cole in 1996, and billed a night that also featured Lisa Loeb and Michelle McAdorey “Lilith Fair.” The tour began on a grander scale in 1997, with McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Jewel, Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Suzanne Vega, Fiona Apple and Juliana Hatfield, among others. The festival had a successful three-year run, growing exponentially each summer, and proving female singers could draw huge crowds and sell tickets.

Sonja of Quakertown, PA remembers seeing Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair.com
Review of the original Lilith Fair