Passim Will Host Re-imagining Lilith Fair Concert Featuring Boston Artists

Club Passim’s Folk Collective will present Re-imagining Lilith Fair, a nod to the feminist scene of the 1990s with an intersectional lens for today, on September 14th. Produced by singer-songwriter Naomi Westwater, the event will celebrate women and gender-expansive artists in the greater Boston music scene, featuring original music and 90’s cover songs from artists Rosa Joe Jacobs, and Heather Scott. The night will also have a discussion about intersectional feminism in the music scene today with city of Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola. Tickets are on sale now at passim.org. 

Re-imagining Lilith Fair is the vision of The Folk Collective’s Naomi Westwater, a queer, Black-multiracial singer-songwriter from Massachusetts whose work combines folk music, poetry, and spirituality. Re-imagining Lilith Fair pays tribute to the groundbreaking all-female music festival created by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan in 1997 to provide women the same shot at touring gigs as men and placing women at the music center.

The event is moderated by writer, performer, educator and curator Porsha Olayiwola who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She is an Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the founder of the Roxbury Poetry Festival. She is a 2020 poet laureate fellow with the Academy of American poets.

The night will include performances by singer-songwriter Rosa Joe Jacobs, who is inspired by American roots music and also from queer musician Heather Scott. Rosa Joe strives to bring new perspectives lyrically and sonically to the genre and hopes to take up space as a black woman in a style in which black women have historically been underrepresented. 

Heavily influenced by years of living in the Southeast, Heather Scott’s style is deeply rooted in the sounds of the original folk masters while drawing inspiration from modern Americana and Rock artists. There is an untamed, contemporary edge to the controlled power of their classical vocal training, and a vulnerability to their craft. 

“I'm delighted to produce and perform Re-imagining Lilith Fair again at Club Passim this year,’ said Westwater. “We will have special voices joining the conversation like current City of Boston’s poet laureate Porsha and young artists in the Boston music scene. The show allows for us to have a space where we can discuss and keep a conversation going on feminism, more importantly intersectional feminism, and how that plays a role in the music industry. I’m grateful for the continued work we have done as a Folk Collective and only want to continue.”

The Folk Collective is a cohort of artists, musicians, and cultural thought leaders from the greater Boston area dedicated to exchanging ideas and developing projects to expand and diversify the musical and cultural offerings at Club Passim.  

As part of this work, The Folk Collective is curating a series of events that welcome and invite diverse audiences and artists to Club Passim including the upcoming Indigenous People’s Day celebration organized by Kim Moberg and Maxfield Anderson on October 12 and Alastair Moock’s Pastures of Plenty happening on November 8. 

The Folk Collective: Re-imagining Lilith Fair will take place on September 14th, at 8 PM at Club Passim, in Cambridge, MA. Tickets are $20 and can be found at passim.org. Passim is located at 47 Palmer Street in the basement of an historic brick delivery and carriage house. It is on the corner of Church and Palmer Streets.

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