In the spring of 1998, a popular radio station in Los Angeles, Star 98.7, held a contest. The contest claimed that the winner would be an opener for the Lilith Fair. A Sarah Mclachlan produced music festival that lifted up female singer/songwriters and captured the essence of the late 90’s with its audacity to focus on women artists.
The assignment was to send in a tape of your original music to the station, and they would pick 20 applicants to perform at the El Rey Theater. After which a winner would be announced. I had just recorded some of my songs with a friend at my local church, and therefore felt excited that I could actually participate in the contest!
I rallied my father to help me get the tape sent in to the radio station. A few weeks later I got home from school and saw a message light blinking on our answering machine. This is one of those rare moments in life where I somehow knew that it was the radio station, and that I had been chosen for the contest. Indeed, I was correct. A woman whose name I no longer recall, left a message saying that I had been selected to participate in the top 20 showcase at the El Rey Theater. A few days later they made the announcement on air at Star 98.7 - I recorded the announcement onto a cassette tape (so 90’s). Hearing my name “Megan Baier” read aloud over the airwaves was exhilarating! Friends and family were very excited for me, and I recall feeling like perhaps it was the beginning of the story of my dreams coming true.
I remember I wore a black sparkling tank top that I had originally purchased to pair with a big shiny maroon skirt that I would wear to the school formal. For this show, I matched it with a pair of jeans and with my guitar in its case, carried it across busy streets to get to the theater. I stood in a line with the other artists, and an interviewer with a cameraman worked their way down the line, asking questions to the contestants. I was so excited to be interviewed, but alas, they skipped me! That bummed me out, but chin up, I still had to perform.
Sarah played a few songs at the beginning. I was brought down to a waiting area near the front of the stage, and met by the woman who had left the message on our machine. She asked, “Is your dad here?” and I said, “Yes, he’s back there with my family”. She said, “Oh, I would really like to talk to him - I appreciated his letter”. I thought, letter? I did not know that my father had written a letter to the radio station in addition to the audition tape. She handed me a large white plastic bag full of information on ASCAP and a few other items. Then, I was suddenly backstage and ready to go out and play, and I saw Sarah climbing a set of stairs going up to what I assume was the green room. I then become completely parched and ask Ryan Seacrest for some water. I heard him say, “The talent needs water”, which was the first time I had heard the term “talent” used to describe a person who is the performer.
I sang a song I wrote called, “Figure It Out”. A take on popular culture’s influence on women and how it makes us hold ourselves up to unattainable standards and the damage that causes. I played second. For the rest of my life I could say I played 2 slots after Sarah Mclachlan! The winner’s name was Tia Texada. She was the only one of the artists that had a career already in full swing. It was clear she had management and agents, etc. I always found that suspicious. There is a brief mention of her appearance at the 1998 Lilith Fair on her Wikipedia page.
I still do not know what my dad said in that letter…I am so grateful to have a father who will go above and beyond for me. His letter gave me the opportunity to be one of twenty people chosen for this contest out of thousands. I still have the call sheet and will always have the memory of coming home that day to a blinking light on the message machine, and thinking, “this is it!”. I wish I could have played the Lilith Fair back then - how cool would that story have been! Currently, my cover song act is called “Lilith Fairy”, as I continue to love and respect so many of the artists that graced the stage at the Lilith Fair. I attended with my mother in 1997 and saw Tracy, Jewel, Paula, Sarah, Shawn, Sheryl, and so many more.
Anyhoo…