Lilith Fair, the former all-women touring festival spearheaded by '90s hit-maker Sarah McLachlan, had an impressive run for a few years. It helped shine a much-needed light on top women in music at the time such as Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman and Natalie Merchant, as well as lesser-known acts of the day like Luscious Jackson, Victoria Williams and Texas' own Kelly Willis.
But Lilith Fair's been gone for years now, and aside from the occasional one-off festival, there hasn't been much in the way of a large, national effort to put women at the top of the bill and throughout the entire bill. But Live Nation's Live Nation Urban division looks to change that this summer.
According to a press release, Femme It Forward is "a multi-format series of all-female curated lineups spotlighting the entertainment industry's most creative and accomplished female visionaries, both on the stage and behind the scenes."
The schedule of events runs form early May through mid-October with events in Washington, D.C., Syracuse, N.Y., Concord, Calif., Philadelphia, Penn., and two concerts set to take place in Irving, at the Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory.
On May 11, two of the most exciting young women in pop music, Jorja Smith and Kali Uchis, perform a show, before R&B legends Jill Scott and Faith Evans bring their rich, undeniably bold sounds to the same venue on July 5. Oct. 17 will see arguably the biggest overall party of the series when a festival-style lineup featuring bonafide chart-toppers from the '90s: Monica, Brandy, and Mya, as well as Keri Hilson, whose impressive run only dates back one decade, rather than two.
History-making, Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B tops the list of artists performing in some of the other Femme It Forward events.
Tickets for the May 11 and July 5 concert are on sale now at livenation.com, and tickets for the Oct. 17 concert will go on sale on Friday, April 26 at livenation.com.
