11:15PM CDT

we just witnessed a lilith fair first: sarah invited the others to join her on stage to sing joni mitchell's "big yellow taxi". earlier today we lucked upon the rehearsal for it, so we saw both the buildup and the finale.

during rehearsal, sarah was joined by jewel, emmylou, emily and amy, kelly, brady, darryl, michelle, dave r., and her band members. various versuses and solo parts were discussed and divied out and they did 5 or 6 run throughs. we could sense that it was gonna be great and a lot of fun for the artists. what a good choice for a collaborative song.

sarah finished the set with possession as usual, then ice cream for the encore and then she said, "now we have a special treat for you." as the band started playing, various other artists and their band members sauntered on stage. the crowd went nuts! we're probably gonna leave someone out, but here's who was there tonight on stage besides sarah and her band: emmylou, brady and darryl; jewel and dave r.; emily, amy, josh, sarah, and michelle; lisa; mary; kelly; and beth. it was great fun--too bad it was over so quickly. of course we were there to tape it, so we'll have some clips to watch.

6:00PM CDT

Beth Orton played her short set today to a well behaved and receptive audience of about 200. Initially complaining of a sore throat she calmly played through her four songs. Her first song was something not on here "Trailer Park" album and was called "Safety In Lovers". Guitarist Ted Barnes joined Beth on "She Cries Her Name" and "Someone's Daughter". Beth even tried out a new song on the audience, one that was inspired by the Nanci Griffith song "Waking In Corners". Despite the sore throat she had great spirit and won a number of new fans. Bye Beth! We'll miss you around here.

4:30PM CDT

Just back from the press conference. Attendees were Sarah McLachlan, Amy and Emily from the Indigo Girls, Kelly Willis, Lisa Loeb and Michelle Malone.

Kelly Willis, whose last day is today, was asked what experiences she'll leave with.

"We're all really sad today that we have to leave and go back to the real world. I had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of great music and a lot of great women do their job really well. It was very encouraging and inspiring. Maybe I'll learn from it." Kelly was asked about her experience of playing for a mostly pop audience. A smiling Kelly said "I guess I learned that more people like country music than they let on."

Michelle Malone who plays on the acoustic stage and will most likely join in in on the Indigo Girl's set tonight, was asked about her experience at Lilith.

"As an artist on the c stage I was really surprised that I don't feel any less a part of the fair, you know than being on the little baby stage than hanging out with them backstage or singing with them (The Indigo Girls). Its been a really nurturing environment and a great thing to be a part of.

Lisa Loeb, who plays without her band Nine Tails, was asked what she learns from playing acoustically in front of the Lilith audience.

"A lot of people know me from one song that was on the radio or three or four depending on the city. Its been really nice just getting up with an acoustic guitar as a musician not as a pop singer with one song that everybody has heard of. I think when I get up there with an guitar I feel more in control like I can interact with the audience more. That's good for me right now playing in front of people who really don't know my music whether on the village stage where I played yesterday or on the main stage -- it's the same thing."

The Indigo Girls were asked what they wanted from their experience at Lilith. Emily stated that the first thing that comes to her mind "is sharing."

"Everybody is here not only to enjoy their own shows and enjoy performing for such a great crowd but most of all to experience everybody elses music. We're all off to the side of the stage going 'oh my God this band is so great.' So, even though I think Amy's and mine spirit is all about sharing music and we love to have people get up and play with us, to have it happen in this kind of environment is sometimes overwhelming. I can barely sing when I look over and see the women who are sharing the stage with us. It's very moving to me."

The Julian Center was the recipient of a $16,400 donation at Lilith Fair today. The director Anne Delaney thanked Lilith and stated that a huge problem existed around domestic violence, especially when two and a half times more animal shelters than shelters for women existed in the U.S.

3:00PM CDT

guess who's back? kim fox and her groovy band. they're here to play the acoustic stage at 3:35 and then they plan to "just enjoy the shows". it was neat to see her familiar face.

we don't have any new artists on today, but we do have a new lighting crew member named jennifer. yay! a new face to photograph. she is here to replace dale who flew home yesterday after putting out his back. he was in total agony and could hardly walk--he was white as a ghost. hopefully he'll recover fully. we'll miss his easy smile and subtle wit.

this is a very nice venue as far as venues go. it's situated in flat fields, but once you're inside, you'd never guess. there are lots of trees planted all around and lots of pretty flowers. and there's even a ben and jerry's stand.

guess what? jay bought a sarong. (wait - our jay? in a sarong? this i would pay for.) it looks very snazzy. we tried to talk him into a dress, but he was hesitant. we turned our backs for awhile and along he came sporting the sarong which rai rai from hary dary helped him choose. there'll be photos up later. (this i will have to see!)