For co-founding Lilith Fair songbird Sarah McLachlan and some of the most talented female performers in the music business today, the hottest time of 2010 apparently won’t be remembered as the summer of love.
As the concert season continues to nose-dive faster than the Dow, the folks behind the Lilith Tour announced Thursday (July 1) that 10 dates have been canceled, leaving 21 shows remaining after Thursday’s “celebration of women in music” in Vancouver, McLachlan’s adopted hometown.
The tour kicked off less than a week ago, June 27 in Calgary, Alberta, with its first United States date scheduled July 2 in Portland, Oregon. More than 9,000 fans attended the opener with a lineup that included country’s Sugarland, Erykah Badu, Sheryl Crow, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Colbie Caillat and McLachlan, scheduled to be headliner at each stop.
The 10 canceled shows (and dates in parentheses) include: Salt Lake City (July 12); Montreal (July 23); Raleigh, North Carolina (August 4); Charlotte, North Carolina (August 6); West Palm Beach, Florida (August 10); Tampa, Florida (August 11); Birmingham, Alabama (August 12); Austin, Texas (August 14); Houston, Texas (August 15); and Dallas (August 16). Refunds are available at point of purchase.
“We are in the midst of one of the most challenging summer concert seasons with many tours being cancelled outright,” Lilith co-founder and Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride said in a statement Thursday. “Everyone involved with the tour would like to apologize to the fans and artists scheduled to play in these markets, and express appreciation for all the support for the festival’s return. Lilith remains the only tour of its kind, and we are confident that fans will be amazed by what each date has to offer.”
Established Americana performers such as Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls and Crow, all of whom were original members of the Lilith Fair established in the late ’90s, are still expected to perform, along with country’s Sugarland and Miranda Lambert.
After making the initial announcement that the tour was returning after an 11-year absence, Nettwerk Music Group was proud to state, “From 1997 through 1999, Lilith Fair was one of the highest grossing touring festivals in the world, with over 1.5 million fans in attendance and raising over $10 million for national and local charities.”
Because of the cancellations, Lilith Fair has made it clear that “some artists who were set to appear later in the tour may be performing in other cities.” Please check LilithFair.com for the most up to date information for each city.
In late May, another highly anticipated group of traveling musicians participating in the Country Throwdown Tour discovered four shows in June were canceled that included Houston, Dallas, San Diego and Phoenix.
Expected to be one of country music’s most entertaining traveling attractions of the year – led by Big Top headliners Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson , Little Big Town and Jack Ingram – the three-ring circus that initially included 24 dates started to see its tent collapsing in the third week.
Country Throwdown Tour producer Kevin Lyman, who has had much better luck with the X Games/punk rock sensibilities of the Warped Tour that began in 1995, blamed “low ticket sales and too many shows competing with one another.”
The remaining 2010 Lilith Fair dates, according to Thursday’s release:
Date City Venue
Fri, July 2: Portland, OR; Sleep Country Amphitheater
Sat, July 3: Seattle, WA; The Gorge Amphitheatre
Mon, July 5: San Francisco, CA; Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
Wed, July 7: San Diego, CA; Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri, July 9: Las Vegas, NV; The Beach At Mandalay Bay
Sat, July 10: Los Angeles, CA; Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Tue, July 13: Denver, CO; Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
Thur, July 15: Kansas City, MO; Capitol Federal Park @ Sandstone
Fri, July 16: St. Louis, MO; Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St Louis
Sat, July 17: Chicago, IL; First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun, July 18: Minneapolis, MN; Target Center
Tues, July 20: Indianapolis, IN; Verizon Wireless Music Center
Wed, July 21: Detroit, MI; DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sat, July 24: Toronto, ON; Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Tues, July 27: Cleveland, OH; Blossom Music Center
Wed, July 28: Philadelphia, PA; Susquehanna Bank Center
Fri, July 30: Boston, MA; Comcast Center
Sat, July 31: New York, NY; PNC Bank Arts Center
Sun, Aug 1: Hartford, CT; Comcast Theatre
Tues, Aug 3: Washington, DC; Merriweather Post Pavilion
Sun, Aug 8: Atlanta, GA; Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
