Music

Haim are considering launching a new Lilith Fair

by Dan MacRae

The spirit of Lilith Fair lives on in the hearts of World’s Most Charming™ pop-rock combo Haim.

Este Haim spoke with music critic Kelefa Sanneh at the New Yorker Festival on Friday and revealed that she has some ideas about assembling a female-driven festival to combat the epidemic of male-dominated bills.

“We talk about this all the time, how there aren’t enough female-represented bands and artists at festivals. You don’t see them. And it’s really sad for us,” she explained. “We came up with the idea basically of why can’t we just bring back a festival that’s just ladies. Not that we don’t love the boys. Love the men.”

REFRESHER: In the late ’90s, Sarah McLachlan would wrangle up a collection of female artists (like Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott and Natalie Merchant to name a sliver) and travel to assorted stadiums throughout North America. The format was revived in 2010 but the tour was scrapped midway through thanks to weak ticket sales and performers bailing as the tour went on.

Este says she saw Lilith Fair affiliated artists growing up and that left a big impact on her.

“I did see Melissa Etheridge in concert, I saw Sarah McLachlan in concert, I saw Paula Cole in concert and Sheryl Crow. All these amazing ladies had such an amazing outlet and place to play music, and it was really beautiful, and I feel like that’s not really available anymore and that outlet isn’t there,” she said.

According to Este, the band “talk semi-jokingly but semi-seriously about making it happen” and their dream lineup would feature Taylor Swift, Lorde, Florence and the Machine, Jenny Lewis, Savages, and Chvrches.

“So stay tuned. I think that would be really magical,” offers Este as your brain fills with fantasy booking suggestions.