SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to The Jewish News

A

ing, not so much being heard but hav-
ing a dialogue," said Becker, 31, who
played violin and piano long before
taking up guitar in college.
"I think it's part of my personality
to discuss ideas with people and share
ideas with people. I love teaching and
the dynamic of the classroom. Having
that really great class is like having
that really great audience, although a

s Lilith Fair heads to town
for a three-day festival of
celebrating women in
music, it's a reminder that,
these days, it's the women of rock who
are hot.
From Rolling Stones' recent book
Women of Rock to virtually every
magazine cover reflecting the
music scene, women in music
are where it's at.
Ferndale resident-Audrey
hree days of all-women per-
Becker is no exception.
formances — Lilith Fair —
Although the folk-rocker did
comes
to the Pine Knob
not emerge the winner of the
Music
Theatre
July 6-8 as
talent search to appear on the
part of a 50-city tour.
Lilith Fair's Village Stage July 6-
Building on last year's success, the
8 at Pine Knob, she did make
tour kicked off June 19 to celebrate
the regional auditions based on
women in music.
a submission of her recording.
Sarah McLachlan, who headlines the
With one CD recorded and
tour, had the vision for an all-women
played on national TV as well as
tour in 1997, and wound up with the
a second in the works, Becker
top-grossing festival tour of last year.
continues to be booked at local
The Haven, which helps women suffer-
clubs as well as other out-of-
ing from abuse, received $30,312 in
town summer festivals.
tour proceeds.
The Ferndale resident will be
For each ticket sold in 1998, $1 will
at Hamtramck's Paychecks on
be donated to a local charity.
July 9, Ann Arbor's Gypsy Cafe
"It was a great example of strong
on July 10, the Detroit
women
out there doing something they
Women's Coffee House on July
love,
doing
something really
11 and Birmingham's Max &
positive," said McLachlan,
Erma's on July 23.
who appears at all three Pine
In between appearances, she
Knob concerts with Natalie
is working on her doctoral dis-
Merchant.
sertation covering English
This year's main stage
Renaissance drama and soon
concerts
also will feature
will defend it at the University
Indigo Girls (July 6-7),
of Michigan, where she taught
Sinead O'Connor (July 6-7),
for six years.
Me'Shell Ndegeocello (July
Becker easily moves from the
6-7), Bonnie Raitt (July 7-8)
free and sometimes conversa-
and Tracy Bonham (July 8).
tional lyrics found in folk and
In addition to main stage,
rock tunes to the tight and
Lilith
Fair again will incor-
proper prose found . in classic lit-
porate
Second and Village
erature.
Stages for both established
Poetic license is what she's all
and emerging artists, with
about, and that's opened access
an emphasis on offering a broader
to expanding entertainment
range of musicianship to audiences.
opportunities.
"I think there's a connection
— Suzanne Chessler
between performing and teach-

class is much more active."
Becker defines her music as con-
temporary acoustic even though she is
starting to incorporate more electric
instruments in her playing and record-
ings. It's definitely folk influenced, but
it's going more in a rock direction.
The singer-songwriter, who studied
music before entering kindergarten,
performed in school and community

theater while growing up in Illinois. 4-4
Summers were spent learning and per-
forming at Interlochen, where her
interest was fueled for appearances as a
pianist-singer in New York, close to
her undergraduate school, Barnard
College.
After moving to Ann Arbor to work
on her master's degree, she started
playing guitar for fun and then wrote*

The Girls Of Summer

7/3
1998

78

Lilith Fair runs Monday-
Wednesday, July 6-8, with
shows beginning at 4:30
p.m., at the Pine Knob Music
Theatre. $39 pavilion/$26.50
lawn. (248) 645-6666.
Last year's Lilith Fair
featured a rotating lineup of
more than 70 performers in
35 cities, with the Lilith crew
capturing much of the music
on tape. The result was a 25-
song collection titled Lilith

Fair: A Celebration of Women
in Music. For a review of this
double CD, see this week's
Mixed Media.

Clockwise from top..
Sarah McLachlan,
Natalie Merchant,
Emily Saliers and
Amy Ray of h7digo Girls.