Music fans can transport themselves back to the ’90s with the help of a new documentary on the storied Lilith Fair, now streaming on Hulu.
Ally Pankiw’s “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” tells the story of the all-female music festival created by Sarah Mclachlan from 1997 to 1999.
In the summer of 1997, amid a rock landscape dominated by male headliners and radio playlists skeptical of back-to-back women, Lilith Fair burst onto the scene — not as a novelty, but as a challenge to the status quo. Founded by McLachlan and collaborators, the traveling festival featured an all-female (or female-led) lineup and intentionally flouted industry convention, pairing charting names (Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Indigo Girls) with emerging voices, and donating a portion of ticket proceeds to women’s causes.
Its success was immediate, grossing nearly $16 million in its first year, it outpaced festival giants like Lollapalooza and proved that audiences would show up for women front and center. Though its main run lasted only until 1999 (with a troubled revival in 2010), Lilith’s legacy endures.
“Can anyone look at the landscape right now — with women arguably represented less than ever in certain genres like rock and country, let alone dominating sociopolitical culture — and say we don’t sorely need it back?” Variety music writer Chris Willman wrote in his glowing review of the doc. “Beyond just providing a welcome dip into nostalgia, maybe “Building a Mystery” could go some way toward building interest in a reboot.”
“Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” stars Mclachlan, Paula Cole, Jewel, Sheryl Crowe, Brandy Carlile, Erykah Badu, Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Mya, Emmylou Harris, and Olivia Rodrigo.
Currently, Hulu has a 30-day free trial for new subscribers to check out the doc for free. After the month, you can either cancel it, or keep watching Hulu starting at $9.99/month for the ad-supported plan. However, to go ad-free, the price jumps up to $18.99/month.
If interested in adding more streaming services, you can get the Disney Duo, which includes both Hulu and Disney+, for $10.99/month with ads, or $19.99/month without ads. Moreover, the Disney Trio has Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ (all ad-supported) for $16.99/month, or ad-free Disney+ and Hulu, along with ESPN+ with ads for $26.99/month.
