A Look Back at the Best Vintage Photos From Lilith Fair
Before there was Gaga or Taylor, before pussy hats or Beyoncé's "girls in formation," there was an epic all-female music festival created by women fed up with sexism: Lilith Fair. In honor of the festival's 20-year anniversary, we're taking a look back at some of the most iconic photos from the event's early years. Prepare to see a young Lena Dunham, a lot of cool sunglasses, and some of your favorite '90s musicians performing in front of a massive crowd. Click through for a major time jump—we're talking pre-Instagram—and likely some FOMO. And for more on Lilith Fair's history, click here.
Newscom1/411997
A 1997 article about Lilith Fair's success.
Merri Cyr2/411997
Crowds enter a sold-out show in George, Washington.
Merri Cyr3/411997
Paula Cole plays to a sold-out audience in George, Washington.
Merri Cyr4/411997
Suzanne Vega backstage getting ready for her performance.
Merri Cyr5/411997
Paula Cole arriving at the festival.
Courtesy of Lena Dunham6/411997
A young Lena Dunham attending her first Lilith Fair.
Courtesy of Lena Dunham7/411997
Lena Dunham awaiting a performance with her mother.
Courtesy of Nettwerk Music Group8/411997
Memorabilia from Lilith Fair.
Merri Cyr9/411997
Tracy Chapman backstage at Lilith Fair.
Merri Cyr10/411997
Sarah McLachlan in her dressing room.
Getty Images11/411997
Sarah McLachlan performing at Lilith Fair in Texas.
Merri Cyr12/411997
A view of the Lilith Fair stage in 1997.
Merri Cyr13/411997
A "Rock for Choice" booth at Lilith Fair.
Merri Cyr14/411997
Another view of the sold-out Lilith Fair crowd.
Merri Cyr15/411997
Fans take a break in between sets.
Merri Cyr16/411997
"You would be surprised how many guys were there, too," Sheryl Crow says of the Lilith Fair crowd.
Getty Images17/411997
Victoria Williams on stage at Lilith Fair.
Merri Cyr18/411997
Paula Cole performing.
Merri Cyr19/411997
"There was this overwhelming feeling of safety and confidence," says music critic Ann Powers of the first Lilith Fair.
Merri Cyr20/411997
"There was a field full of women music fans, sharing blankets, sunbathing," says music critic Ann Powers about the Lilith Fair crowd.
Merri Cyr21/411997
"Lilith was just this beautiful idea where women could all come together and be stronger as one united force": Lilith Fair cofounder Sarah McLachlan on the festival's beginnings.
Merri Cyr22/411997
Lilith earned $16 million gross in 1997, making it the most successful touring festival that year.
Getty Images23/411997
Erykah Badu performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Merri Cyr24/411997
"At this amphitheater I was witnessing as many ways of being a woman as there are women," Lena Dunham says of her first Lilith Fair experience.
AP Images25/411998
By 1998, more artists wanted to perform—which lead to three months of back-to-back tour stops and a more diverse range of musical styles.
AP Images26/411998
Imani Coppola performing at Lilith Fair in Jones Beach, New York.
Getty Images27/411998
Billie Myers performing.
Getty Images28/411998
Natalie Merchant and the Indigo Girls were just some of the artists on the 1998 Lilith Fair tour lineup.
Getty Images29/411998
"Lilith Fair was a great vehicle for the discovery of women artists, something that wasn't so easy when women weren't being included on other festival bills"—music critic Ann Powers on the power of Lilith.
Getty Images30/411998
Erykah Badu performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images31/411998
Sinead O'Connor performing at the festival.
AP Images32/411999
Gabby Glaser of the New York band Luscious Jackson performing underneath the Lilith Fair symbol at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Getty Images33/411999
Sheryl Crow on stage at PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Getty Images34/411999
Sheryl Crow during the 1999 Lilith Festival at PNC Arts Center.
Getty Images35/411999
Sandra Bernhard, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan, and Chrissie Hynde performing at the Lilith Fair finale in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images36/411999
Bonnie Raitt performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images37/411999
Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow performing together at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images38/411999
Sheryl Crow performing at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images39/411999
Bonnie Raitt performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images40/411999
Sheryl Crow performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Getty Images41/411999
Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders performing at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
