Sometimes you just need a little nostalgic hopecore to get you through the day. So by all means go wrap yourself in the warm embrace of the late 90s optimism of the female singer-songwriter era. The new Hulu documentary “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” is exactly that hopecore. Besides the welcome faces of so many heroes from that time, from the Indigo Girls and Erykah Badu to Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan herself, the film also reminds us of the still revolutionary nature of it all. An all-women music festival? In this economy? Taylor Swift and her opener is one thing. But a whole bill? Now hold on, little ladies. Will it also make you feel a little old and remind you how our cultural history is lost if not specifically passed down to new generations? What do you mean kids today don’t know what Lilith Fair was? Teach the children! Open the schools! Happy weekend, all.
Great doc! Especially loved the Brandi Carlise baby dyke pix. Wow, brilliant movie.
ReplyDeleteI wish it was still going on…
ReplyDeleteI’m 46 years old, and I went to Lilith Fair right after high school graduation in 1998. It was incredible. There were so many fabulous women singer/songwriters who actually got radio airtime during the late 90s.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t seen the documentary yet, but I do hope it recognizes that, while McLachlan was the first woman artist to take an all-women’s music festival mainstream, it wasn’t the first of its kind. The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, a feminist, lesbian, women’s festival, ran annually from 1977 to 2015. And while it ultimately met its demise as a result of its trans-exclusionary policy, we can’t deny its place in history and the artists it helped launch.
My mom was gay, and I grew up listening to artists like Holly Near, Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Ronnie Gilbert, Ferron, Heather Bishop, Margie Adams, Deidre McCalla, Faith Nolan, and more. If anyone wants to learn more about these remarkable artists, I recommend watching the 2002 documentary “Radical Harmonies.” It is available here: https://vimeo.com/399289012
Lilith Fair was awesome... and the documentary sounds wonderful !!!
ReplyDeleteYes! I watched it and loved it and then cancelled my Hulu (Disney ) subscription.
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