Lilith Fair was founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1996 as a result of the Canadian musician’s frustration with events and radio stations that refused to feature two female artists in a row. Its sophomore lineup was a hella strong combo of rap legends, indie-folk darlings, and alt-rock innovators including Missy Eilliott, Diana Krall, Luscious Jackson, Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu, Sinead O’Connor, Beth Orton, and Fiona Apple. 20 years later and Lilith Fair has officially bitten the dust following a warmly received revival of the feminist touring festival in 2010. But in a year when everything 90s is new again and there’s still a crippling shortage of female headliners topping gig posters for most mainstream festivals — Coachella has only had one female headlining artist in its entire history(!) — maybe it’s just a question of the right artist taking the helm. If you’re thinking Beyoncé might be up to the task, you’re not alone. Sharon Osbourne enthusiastically put forward the the Lemonade superstar’s name in an interview with Billboard last week.
Speaking about Ozzy Osbourne’s annual heavy metal and hard rock festival Ozzfest, the original reality TV matriarch said she knows just the artist to spearhead a festival with equal longevity (and gender-bias). “I would like to see somebody like Beyoncé do something like they used to do at Lilith Fair, all women,” she said. “I think that needs to be done again. There are so many great female artists and singer-songwriters coming up. I think it’s wonderful.” This might be the most real thing Sharon Osbourne has said since she compared getting a facelift to spending the night with an axe murderer.
While Beyoncé certainly has her hands full at the moment with taking her own historic Formation tour around the globe, all good things must come to an end. Plus, she’s proven herself more than adept at spotting young talent, mixing different genres, and sharing the spotlight with other kick-ass women. We’re already imaginary-shopping the Beyoncé Lilith Fair tour merch.
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Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Instagram