Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery

Lilith Fair changed everything. Upon its emergence in 1997, this revolutionary travelling music festival, helmed by superstar Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan and featuring exclusively women or women-led acts, exploded the notion that popular music could only support a token quota of women’s voices. This galvanizing documentary from director Ally Pankiw (I Used To Be Funny) chronicles Lilith Fair’s triumphant three-year run and features new interviews with key performers such as Jewel, Bonnie Raitt, Erykah Badu, and Emmylou Harris.

Back in the ’90s, conventional “wisdom” suggested that commercial radio couldn’t play two women in a row. Frustrated by this, McLachlan went on tour with Paula Cole to offer audiences an entire night of women’s artistry. That tour went so well that the next summer McLachlan debuted Lilith Fair, named after the Lilith of Jewish lore: Adam’s renegade first wife. It became the year’s top-grossing festival simply because the artists were so good. Besides the luminaries noted above, the Fair’s eventual roster included Fiona Apple, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Suzanne Vega, Indigo Girls, and Pat Benatar.

With beautifully integrated performances, backstage footage, and media coverage, Pankiw explores the logistics and challenges in making these events happen. She also highlights the festival’s significance to younger up-and-coming artists through interviews with Brandi Carlile and Olivia Rodrigo. There’s also testimony from actor-filmmaker Dan Levy, a producer of the film, who caught his first Fair as a boy and was forever affected. The legacy of Lilith Fair lives on, and this inspiring film tells us why.