Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Ho hum summer

Jeffrey Remz  |  July 2, 2010

It's sure a tough being in the music business. I have already commented about declining CD sales, something that's been going on for a good five years now. As of yesterday's report at Billboard.com, sales were down about 11 percent from a year ago for all types of music.

The concert season isn't so easy either. The Eagles canned some dates due to slack sales.

And on Thursday, the all-women's Lilith Tour, which includes several country acts, announced 10 more shows were off due to poor ticket sales. This was on top of shows in Nashville, Phoenix and Atlanta that were previously canceled.

Sugarland, the Court Yard Hounds and Sheryl Crow are among the country and roots acts slated to play some dates of the fest. "We are in the midst of one of the most challenging summer concert seasons with many tours being cancelled outright," said Lilith co-founder Terry McBride in a statement on the Lilith web site.

The concept is a worthy effort to promote the music of female artists and one that was popular in the 1990's. But that was then.

Let's hope that Lilith can last through this year to return next year in better form. As for the acts out there, like Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn and others, let's hope the fans show up in sufficient numbers to let live music live.