The Tamesis
Like me, you might have missed the premiere entirely this September because after Jimmy Kimmel was suspended from his late-night duties, McLachlan and Jewel canceled their opening night performance in support of free speech, and then ABC News Studios spoke to McLachlan, Jewel, Mýa and director Ally Pankiw The film’s red carpet was canceled the day before she was supposed to appear in front of reporters and photographers. However, that didn’t stop the movie from going viral on Reddit, with one user urging readers to “especially if you think this movie is worth watching” [Lilith Fair] is for hippie, unshaved lesbian feminists because it’s not the touchy-feely, hippie concert series that the popular media makes it out to be. This was real rock ‘n’ roll, celebrated in a safe, honest and healthy way, and it created a cultural shift in the music industry at a time when other music festivals were turning into nightmares, like Woodstock ’99. “Literally, I knew it the moment we pressed play.
The name struck me first. As MacLachlan explains, Lilith comes from ancient mythology, where she was described as Adam’s first wife—made of the same dust—who refused to submit to a man before fleeing the Garden of Eden. I grew up in the Texas Bible Belt and never heard such whispers! And “fairness” is a pun on equality, gathering, and beauty. This makes sense!
I also didn’t know about Tracy Chapman, Pat Benatar, the Cardigans, and Dido was part of the original tour. (In that era, I feared I was more influenced by misogynistic headlines about Paula Cole not shaving her armpits than by the larger message, or even the artist lineup.) Or, when faced with criticism of the “Lilies” set, McLachlan returned with artists like Deslay, Erica Badu (who brought her kids on tour!), Queen Latifah, and Nelly Furtado. You can watch the film’s historic festival footage alone – Sinéad O’Connor’s voice piercing the veil, Christina Aguilera’s side-deer debut, or Missy Elliott, who treated Lilith Fair to one of her first live performances, pulling up in a sports car to dance in her signature inflatable suit when the bus broke down.
