10:15PM EDT

sarah's just hit the stage to perform for that enthusiastic, amazing audience. ash said earlier to us that he sensed that the crowd was "ready to rock and we're gonna rock their pants off!". we're gonna go peek in a bit.

we were lucky enough to be side of stage to watch tracy's final set for lilith. it was hands down the best we've seen yet. she was dancing and grooving like she was having the time of her life. one thing that was different from sets we'd seen previously was the "souped up" version of new beginning. it was awesome! and even more awesome was the version of proud mary that she did with sarah and joan. it was so cool--she started singing the first verse and as she entered the chorus, joan and sarah were singing backup from backstage. you couldn't see them, but you could here them. people were wondering what the heck was going on. and then sarah emerged singing the next verse and then joan emerged on the one after. finally, in the last chorus, victoria williams joined in. it was something to see! what a way for tracy to end her lilith sojourn. thanks a lot to everyone involved.

earlier we forgot to mention that camille was the surprise artist on the acoustic stage in the village. ironically enough, today that stage was bigger than the b-stage. it's a stage that's permanently here at the venue, so instead of being in a 9x9 tent, the acoustic stage artists played in style today. camille was great, as usual, and lots of people gathered round her afterward for autographs and to give her enthusiastic feedback.

7:45PM EDT

joan just finished her set and yes, we did get permission to shoot the last song, what if god was one of us? rasputina joined her for it as expected and even from the side of stage it was quite the experience. you could've heard a pin drop, the audience was so quiet. they were enraptured--what a treat. joan's voice is so smooth and sweet--more so than comes across on her album.

turns out that catering isn't as good as it promised to be earlier. dinner was interesting, but someone dumped a can of salt into everything. whew, was it ever salty! then they were hassling people who wanted both fish and cabbage rolls. huh?! i felt like i was in a boarding house.

fiona's set was rockin' again tonight. she was excited that she was the first one on the stage tonight and that so many people were in their seats and the venue looked full. she said that she had had an idea backstage and that she wanted to record the crowd on her hand-held DAT, so that in her neurotic, depressed moments she could hear the crowd that had come to see her. sure enough, on cue the crowd roared and she caught it all on tape. i hope she had her levels turned down. and guess what? the guys in her band weren't wearing frocks tonight. guess it was laundry day in their camp.

6:30PM EDT

At about 6:30pm this afternoon the three members of Rasputina took out their cellos and began rehearsing for their guest appearance with Joan Osborne. Rasputina will accompany Joan in a unique version of "One Of Us". The three were an odd sight as the played in front of a couple of large trucks. The crew having dinner in the nearby catering area must have been pleased to have such beautiful music to eat by.

3:30PM EDT

the press conference just wrapped up. it was well attended both by artists and press, but in what seems to be a new trend, the press weren't too keen to do their job and ask questions. so the "tour insiders" did their job for them. beth, bob and even nicole got up to the mike to ask stimulating and interesting questions. and everyone wished juliana a very happy 30th birthday.

just now in the parking lot we saw susanna hoffs arrive. there's a crowd gathered at the entry gates and many of them recognized her and yelled out her name. she didn't stop, but did give them a friendly wave and a smile. right behind her emerging from a limo were rasputina's members. they graced the stage with joan on her last song 2 nights ago at jones beach, and we were hoping that they'd do the same tonight. i would assume so! we sure are having a good day today. oh, and jill and joy, (who coincidentally are traveling companions for this tour) are going to conspire on each other's sets today. we'll be there to get some footage.

At every city Lilith Fair stops at, one dollar from every ticket sold goes to a local charity. Today, it was Womens Way, to whom Sarah presented a check for $18,000. Formed in 1976, Womens Way is a coalition of 9 member and 8 associate member organizations. It's a funding federation which combines both annual allocations to its members with a grant-making process to non-member groups. Their funds help recipients provide services to nearly 200,000 women and children each year.

12:30PM EDT

weather report: hazy, muggy, hot, humid. visibility 1/2 a mile. possibility of showers (?!).

venue report: good venue, good catering, good showers and dressing rooms, good docking bay, a huge production office, and not one but two phone lines for the multimedia bus. gotta love it!

it's a bit crowded in the backstage parking lot, but that didn't stop all the drivers from washing their buses this a.m. some were at it earlier than others, namely malcolm, our driver, who felt the need to hose down our bus before 8 a.m. that sure wakes you up quickly.

today we can look forward to another new arrival: susanna hoffs. we're curious to see if she's playing with a band of just solo. we'll let you know.

also stay tuned for a cardigans diary entry. we heard from one of their travelling companions that they'd put something together for us last night. we wait with bated breath....