The first Lilith Fair since the touring festival’s initial three-year run ended in 1999 arrives Sat 7/17 at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (I-80 and Harlem, Tinley Park). Lisa Loeb, Fiona Apple, and Paula Cole aren’t aboard this time around, but the Chicago lineup is a solid mix of old-timers and newcomers that includes Mary J. Blige, La Roux, Court Yard Hounds, Heart, Kate Nash, Vedera, Meaghan Smith, Vita Chambers, and Katie Todd. The roster changes throughout the tour—we aren’t getting Erykah Badu, Cat Power, Metric, or Tegan and Sara, for instance—and the only headliner on every date is Sarah McLachlan, who helped found Lilith Fair to combat what she saw as a lack of support for female artists from radio stations and concert promoters. The festival also features a Lilith Village with a misting tent, massage chairs, a music lounge with acoustic performances, and more—though of course it also doubles as a chance for the event’s many sponsors (Degree for Women, O.B., Crystal Light) to basically chuck free samples at concertgoers from all sides. The show starts at 1 PM, and tickets range from $41.50 to $127. A portion of the proceeds goes to charity—not only national organizations like Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure but also a local nonprofit, the Chicago Women’s Health Center, chosen by Lilith Fair’s Facebook fans. Visit lilithfair.com for more info.
Lilith Fair
Back on tour for the first time since 1999, Lilith Fair visits Chicago with a lineup that includes Mary J. Blige, La Roux, Sarah McLachlin, Court Yard Hounds, and Heart.
