The Fair-er sex: a guide to Montreal's Lilith Fair line-up

by CHRIS YURKIW

Style of music From atmospheric pop to "earthy" ballads

Owes a lot to Old 4AD groups, Pierre Marchand productions, crocheted shawls

Sample lyric "I only hope that I won't disappoint you/When I'm down here on my knees"

'70s song most likely to cover Mary MacGregor's "Torn Between Two Lovers"

Feminist orientation "[Lilith Fair] doesn't exclude men, it simply celebrates women"

Career highlight Surfacing debuted at #2 in Billboard

Future outlook Slow-building international success could outlast that of fellow CanCon patriots Morissette, Twain and (hopefully) Dion

Style of music Coffeehouse folk served with under-baked Alaskan poetry

Owes a lot to Edie Brickell, Anaïs Nin, Renee Zelweger

Sample lyric "Please be careful with me, I'm sensitive/And I'd like to stay that way"

'70s song most likely to cover Janis Ian's "At Seventeen"

Feminist orientation "You always tell me that it's impossible/ To be respected and be a girl/Why's it gotta be so complicated?"

Career highlight A Best New Artist nomination and the see-est of see-through dresses at this year's Grammies

Future outlook Who knows? Jewel was 20 when the sleeper Pieces of You was released back in 1994. She might be Wendy O. Williams by now

Style of music "Alternative, Folk" according to Sony Music Entertainment

Owes a lot to Rosanne Cash, Aimee Mann and other love-worn elder stateswomen of song

Sample lyric "I go to trouble like a magnet/That's where I'll be/Trouble is just a place to sing/It's what you need"

'70s song most likely to cover Carly Simon's "You're So Vain"

Feminist orientation "Is it something God left out in my spirit or my flesh?/Would I be saved if I were brave and had a baby?"

Career highlight Her appearance on The Larry Sanders Show as the mature foil to Larry's teenage girlfriend

Future outlook Needs an across-the-board hit. Less VH1 and more MTV

Style of music Guitar pop with groovy drum loops

Owes a lot to Sheryl Crow, Tuesday Night Music Club, former Michael Jackson backup singers

Sample lyric "I need a wet kiss/I need to confess/I need a vision/Religion/The right to be silent/And then to be heard/A week on an island/A diet that works"

'70s song most likely to cover Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman"

Feminist orientation "If you're a woman, people get down on you if you're angry or sad. Being a bitch is just another mood, so why can't we just be in the moment?"

Career highlight "Bitch," from her solo debut Blurring The Edges, was a radio hit even before its official release

Future outlook Has to distinguish herself beyond the neo-novelty of "Bitch"

Style of music From spare folk to jangy guit-pop

Owes a lot to "I was raised on the Beach Boys, Pointer Sisters and Sesame Street Disco"

Sample lyric "I want to be a star/I want to be of age to get into the bar"

'70s song most likely to cover Marie Osmond's "Paper Roses"

Feminist orientation "If I had been a boy, [my parents] had chosen the name Dana, and if I had been a girl they were at a loss. One day watching The Price Is Right, a female contestant was called with the name Dayna and their problem was solved."

Career highlight Record deal with EMI Canada at age 18

Future outlook Her high school teachers say her marks aren't suffering at all.

Lilith Fair is at Stade du Maurier, Jarry Park on Sunday, Aug. 17. 3pm, $29.50-39.50. 790-1245