Within the first 15 minutes of “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery – the Untold Story,” a new documentary about the groundbreaking late ’90s touring music festival, viewers will learn that a tour that featured two female artists, headliner and opener, was referred to as a “pussy package.” “You can’t put two women on the same bill, people won’t come,” Sarah McLachlan, Lilith Fair’s co-founder, explains she was told when she wanted to ask Paula Cole to join her on the road to give herself some much-needed respite and sisterhood. She did it anyway. And guess what? The audience showed up.
“It was a massive success,” McLachlan states, “and it changed people’s lives. It changed my life! And yet, people don’t like change. There’s a reason Lilith remains mostly unheard of and misunderstood. If you s