This is sponsored content from BlogHer and by the makers of ob tampons, CAREFREE Pantiliners and STAYFREE pads.

Did you see that picture? Yep, the one with Sarah Mclachlan and me. I  I headed out to The Verizonport Ampicenter (how many times have they changed the name of that place?) for an evening of chick-rock, cold adult beverages, and general sweaty outdoors music listening fun at Lilith Fair 2010. I had almost forgotten how much I love a music festival (even without a hilarious run in with Snoop Dogg), but fear not readers my musical soul is still in tact… and to top it all of, I had a blast.

I got to the concert just in time to catch a special press conference with Sarah Dalton (from local band that won a place in the lineup, The Airplanes), Kina, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Mclachlan, Jennifer Knapp, Ellen Reid from Lydia’s House (the awesome St. Louis women’s charity that received a portion of the festival’s ticket proceeds), and Meaghan Smith. Admittedly, this isn’t par for the festival course… but I would refer you to the aforementioned Snoop Dogg experience before saying that some odd celeb brush or another is not expected.

Well, Mrs. Angela “Fluid Pudding” Downing and I met the festival’s organizer, Miss Sarah Mclachlan, and snapped that picture you see at the top of this post. This was after she had her giant check moment with Lydia’s House, of course. Although I would not have complained if I had been the one handed a giant check while mugging with her, and I am sure Angela would agree.

As I mentioned before, it was one of those famous, heat rash generating, mid-summer evenings in St. Louis. And not only did the sponsors for my Lilith Fair experience (STAYFREE pads®, CAREFREE liners®, and o.b. tampons®) make it possible for me to meet Sarah (you know, ’cause that two seconds of picture taking put me on a first name basis with her and all), but they also provided air conditioning and scented cool towels in their “Lillipad Lounge.” (I know, I thought that was kind of cute, too). I popped into their tent too many times once or twice throughout the night to indulge in a little slice of cool-me-off. I also took advantage of the bathroom they had fancied up with a little bit of Astroturf lining the isles and a stock-pile of pads assured to last through the periodpocalyspe, should something like that happen. AC outside, plus a fancy bathroom where otherwise you can expect close to toxic conditions… Epic.

In my opinion every music festival has its own take away lesson. My lesson from Lilith was that the Candian band, Metric, rocks. The little, waifish lead singer really has some lungs on her, and I am pretty much in love with their sound. I am not usually one to buy CD’s at concerts… because I am not usually one to go to concerts where I don’t know the band. However, festivals are a great place to discover new musical loves… and Metric is mine. Now, I heart Metric.

My second lesson from the night was to respect your musical elders. Let me explain… Emmylou Harris is kind of like Hemmingway. You have heard of her (or him). You know you should have heard (or read) something by her (or him), however you just haven’t. In the book or music store you ignore the legends or classics and head straight for what you consider “the good stuff”, but when you finally take the time to check out what you have been missing, you shame yourself for dismissing it so quickly for so long. Emmylou Harris is amazing (sadly, I am still laboring to reach that conclusion with Hemmingway).

On the door of a stall in the fancy bathroom (see above) I saw a little sticker that explained Lilith Fair was organized because concert promoters said an all female ticket wouldn’t sell. This morning on Fox 2 P-D music critic, Kevin Johnson, said that the reasons Lilith was organized originally might not be relevant today. I say, au contraire Mon frére. Lilith continues to be a celebration of women in music, so perhaps he is missing the point entirely. The experience, for me, seems to have been best summarized during the pre-show press conference, when all of the younger musicians agreed that one of the highlights of the festival is working with seasoned women musicians and getting exposure to a wider audience.

Perhaps they didn’t sell out the amphitheater but didn’t he say in the interview that *all* summer concert ticket sales are down (including über star of the moment Lady Gaga)? By my estimation not only did n00bies Metric blip onto my radar because of Lilith, but a classic, Emmylou Harris, earned a spot in my musical dialogue as well. Would some of these ladies have a spot on stage at other music festivals? Maybe a Bonnaroo or two, but I think for female musicians who might otherwise find it harder to get on a ticket and reach new audiences, and for music fans who can’t afford to travel cross country or aren’t interested in not showering for a week, Lilith has helped make some important musical introductions over the years- and still does.

Oh! And lest I forget, there was the gratuitous Beetle Bob sighting…

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Disclosure: This is sponsored content from BlogHer and by the makers of ob tampons, CAREFREE Pantiliners and STAYFREE pads. I received free tickets and compensation for attending and writing about this concert.

Melody is the Founder and Managing Editor. She is a freelance writer & an interactive media strategist by day. She writes for Girls Guide, STLFamilyLife.com, and on her personal blog, Mrs SmartyPants.com by night. You can email her at melody [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and you can follow her on Twitter- @cosmosgirl.