Lilith Fair launched talent search

More than two-and-a-half months before Sarah McLachlan's female-fronted music festival kicks off June 19 in Portland, Lilith Fair fever is already high.
 
 While a press conference is scheduled April 16 in Los Angeles to announce the 30-plus North American concert dates, the Lilith Fair camp has just unveiled plans to present local talent searches in every market in which the festival will be playing, with the winner getting a slot on the side stage. (This year's mainstage lineup includes McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Sinead O'Connor, Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin, Erykah Badu, Missy Elliot, Sheryl Crow, and The Indigo Girls).
 
 "Sarah and the partners at Lilith Fair wanted to have some sort local talent on every Lilith date and came up with the idea of a talent search," says Pierre Tremblay, VP of Nettwerk Management in Vancouver. "In every single market, be it Indianapolis or Toronto or Raleigh, North Carolina, we want somebody who is actually from that city performing on Lilith Fair."
 
 In keeping with the spirit of Lilith Fair, only female-fronted acts are eligible to apply, but they must be acoustic with no more than three members.
 
 "We've got so many artists on the side stage and technically it was the only way it could work," explains Tremblay. "But you can still have somebody like a Kinnie Starr, who has a bit of an edge but can do it in a way that works within our production needs."
 
 The judging for each event will be organized locally by the respective promoter, but Lilith Fair submitted "rules" to each promoter, outlining how they want the judging handled.
 
 "We want a representative form the promoter, a representative from a radio station, a local press person and somebody in the music industry in that market, be it an artist or whatever, so it's not all one-sided," says Tremblay.
 
 The only Canadian talent search announced so far is in Toronto. Two winners will be chosen to perform at one of two Lilith Fair '98 performances at The Molson Amphitheatre in mid-August.
 
 To qualify, a two-song demo must be submitted by mail or in person to: Levi's/Lilith fair Acoustic Talent Search c/o Universal Concerts Canada @ Molson Amphitheatre 909 Lakeshore Blvd. W., 3rd. Floor Toronto, Ontario M6K 3L3.
 
 Deadline is April 10 at 6 p.m. (ET)
 
 The tapes will then be judged by "the talent department of Universal Concerts", according to Denise Dorchak, assistant talent buyer at Universal Concerts Canada in Toronto. Finalists will be contacted by phone on April 17th. (A list of names will also be posted on the Universal website: www.universalconcerts.ca)
 
 "Out of all of those applicants, 20 participants will be chosen to perform one song on April 21st at the Opera House for a panel of judges consisting of -- and this still hasn't been confirmed," says Dorchak -- "but probably somebody from (radio station) The Edge, somebody from (weekly magazine) Now, maybe somebody from MuchMusic and maybe somebody from our office."
 
 Admission for the April 21 talent-search concert is free. The show kicks off at 8 p.m.
 
 While all the Canadian dates will take place in August, they won't be happening back-to-back. According to Tremblay, the festival will travel to Toronto, return to America, then come back and do Western Canada.