Lilith Winners Stand Side By Side With Top Female Acts

posted in: OurStage Updates

Last week, we caught up with Ashley Matte, Annie Bethancourt, Terra Naomi and Xolie Morra to hear about their experiences performing at the 2010 Lilith Fair. This week, we are featuring the latest batch of Lilith winners and their stories. In case you haven’t heard, OurStage partnered with Lilith in April to give aspiring female solo artists and female-fronted groups the opportunity to play at the famous festival on stops across the US this summer. Since last week, OurStage winning artists Sarah Swenson, Katie Todd, duo Amanda Lucas and Audrey Cecil, and The Airplanes have all performed their sets, and we caught up with them afterward to hear how things went. From their stories it’s clear that each artist had a unique experience, but what they share in common is the increased exposure to new fans and the chance to stand side by side with some of the world’s top female performers.

"I was the everday girl hanging out with rock stars for a day." ”Sara Swenson

Singer-songwriter Sara Swenson performed at the Kansas City stop of the festival alongside artists the likes of Emmylou Harris, Heart, Sarah McLachlan, and Ingrid Michaelson. It was an unforgettable experience, from the buzz of interviews and excitement of fans beforehand to the fun photos and feedback afterward,” recalls Swenson. “It was a dream to be on the same bill as Sarah McLachlan and the other ladies on the Lilith Tour, and both playing a set to an attentive and enthusiastic audience on a secondary stage and sharing the big stage with all of the headlining artists for the finale were experiences I’ll never forget.

"We had an absolute blast being part of such a high-profile event; it's something we'll never forget." ”Amanda Lucas & Audrey Cecil

Recently, singer-songwriters Amanda Lucas and Audrey Cecil combined forces to perform and write as a duo. At their Lilith performance in Indianapolis, Cecil and Lucas played songs to the largest crowd on the tour for the first performer of the day. Playing at Lilith Fair has created more of a buzz than we have ever experienced up to this point,” commented the duo. “By the time we were two songs in, our stage area was packed. Since returning from Lilith fair, we have had constant fan requests/chatter on our social networking sites and web page. In the upcoming year, Cecil and Lucas have plans to record their first album together and hit the road to play dates in many US cities.

"Performing at Lilith was pretty much one of the best things that has happened in our short career so far." ”The Airplanes

In St. Louis, songwriting duo Airplanes performed for new faces and learned a little about the festival business. Performing at Lilith was pretty much one of the best things that has happened in our short career so far. It was a really nice opportunity to perform with some great artists and to perform to crowds that we may not have been able to perform before otherwise. It gave us a really cool opportunity to gain a new fan base in a sense. I really learned that it takes a lot of hard work from everybody to really get a show of this magnitude up and running. From the sound people, to security, to both festival and artist staffs, it takes a real team to make the shows so awesome and so fun.

“Performing at Lilith felt absolutely incredible and surreal.” ”Katie Todd

At the end of the day, each winning artist had the opportunity to perform a special finale on stage with all the other acts on the bill. Katie Todd, winner for Chicago, recalls the experience: I really enjoyed the sense of camaraderie amongst all of the musicians. For the finale, Sarah McLachlan had all of the artists who performed that day up on the main stage singing ‘Because the Night’ by Patti Smith, and I’m still on a high from that experience. You can watch a video of Todd onstage with McLachlan, Heart and Mary J. Blige, to name a few, here.