Women dominate the pop landscape, from radio to the Grammys to social media. They have for several years and not just because of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
But there was a time, back in the 1990s, when commercial radio stations wouldn’t play songs by female artists back-to-back, when few women headlined in big venues with women opening acts, when women didn’t get music biz gigs other than publicist or executive assistant.
Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan set out to change that with her all-women music festival that traveled from amphitheater to amphitheater (including an ad hoc setup in the race track at Canterbury Park in Shakopee) from 1997-99.
The recent documentary “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” looks back at those heady days with testimony from such Lilith performers as Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Erykah Badu and Bonnie Raitt, the fest’s main established star.
In the doc, Olivia Rodrigo, 22, who has made her own big splash, explains that she didn’t even know Lilith Fair existed with all her heroines.
McLachlan, a mild-mannered but determined adult-album artist, pulled off a landmark feat for three consecutive years. Lilith opened doors in the music industry so that the Olivias, Taylors, Sabrinas, Billies, Nickis, Megans, Arianas, Duas, Chappells and Gagas (well, there’s only one Gaga) could rule.
“We forced the change of attitudes within the industry towards women and towards their commercial viability,” McLachlan told NPR in September. “I see artists like Taylor Swift in complete control of her career, reaching stratosphere heights and championing women alongside her, people like Brandi Carlile championing women, championing queer artists in ways that we never used to have.”
After taking a break to focus on motherhood and establish three music schools for at-risk youth, McLachlan, 57, is headed back to Minneapolis on Sunday at the Armory for the first time in 10 years. She has a thoughtful, cathartic new album, “Better Broken,” her first project of new material in 11 years.
![Lucinda Williams performed Tuesday night at the Dakota Jazz Club and Bar April 5,2016 in Minneapolis, MN.] Jerry Holt/Jerry.Holt@Startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/X64ASOQHIYAJOHQW6D3O4ECV7U.jpg?&w=1080)
