Despite selling tickets for as low as $10, Lilith Fair’s triumphant return is already on a bumpy road. The all-female traveling festival’s bill reads like a genre-hopping who’s who, but even names like Sia, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Erykah Badu couldn’t put bodies in the seats. The tour has officially canceled dates in Nashville and Phoenix, and Toronto’s Globe and Mail reports that Sam Feldman, who manages Jones, has confirmed that her dates on the final leg of Lilith have been scrapped.
“Norah was prepared to do all the Lilith Dates she was contracted for,” said Feldman, “but then those dates were canceled.” If his statement holds true, then fans in West Palm Beach, Tampa, Birmingham, Houston, and Dallas may be soon be joining fans in Nashville and Phoenix fans who are receiving refunds at the point of purchase.
While officials at Lilith haven’t confirmed the new cancellations, the rumors of more cancellations are just another obstacle for Lilith’s comeback. Festival co-founder Terry McBride has already acknowledged soft ticket sales and expressed his desire to make tickets – which range from $10-$250 – even more affordable. “I would love to make the tickets cheaper,” he told Spinner.com, “but it means artists would have to demand less, and I’d have to get more sponsors. There’s an economic puzzle. We’re not charging any more than what we need to make it work.” When asked about the new cancellations and the status of other dates, McBride said, “We review our sales on a weekly basis. I’m not going to say yes; I’m not going to say no.”
UPDATE: The Indigo Girls’ tour site also lists dates in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Atlanta as cancelled, but the festival hasn’t removed the dates from their official site. (Thanks to CoS reader, Erin, for the tip.)
Check out the revised Lilith dates (shows rumored to be canceled in bold) below.
Lilith Fair 2010 Tour Dates:
06/27 – Calgary, AB @ McMahon Stadium
06/28 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
07/01 – Vancouver, BC @ Ambleside Park
07/02 – Portland, OR @ Sleep Country Amphitheater
07/03 – Seattle, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre
07/05 – San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
07/07 – San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
07/09 – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Events Center
07/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
07/13 – Denver, CO @ Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
07/15 – Kansas City, MO @ Capitol Federal Park
07/16 – St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/17 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
07/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
07/21 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/23 – Montreal, QC @ Centre Bell
07/24 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/27 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
07/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center
07/30 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
07/31 – New York, NY @ PNC Bank Arts Center
08/01 – Hartford, CT @ Comcast Theatre
08/03 – Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post Pavillion
08/04 – Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
08/06 – Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
08/08 – Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre
08/10 – W. Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
08/11 – Tampa, FL @ 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
08/12 – Birmingham, AL @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
08/14 – Austin, TX @ TBA
08/15 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08/16 – Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
