Lilith Fair Tour 2010 Scraps 10 More Dates

Lady rockers are the latest victims of a weak concert season in North America.

Organizers of the all-female Lilith Fair Festival Tour, co-founded by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan in 1997, cancelled almost one-third of the scheduled shows on Thursday.

The lineup will vary as the tour proceeds, with artists such as Emmylou Harris, Carly Simon, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Selena Gomez and Heart lined up for appearances, however fans appear to be reluctant to shell out as much as $250 for tickets in some markets.

Organizers originally scheduled 33 dates, but McLachlan admitted that ticket sales for the shows were “pretty soft.”

The 2010 tour, Lilith Fair’s first incarnation since 1999, kicked off in Calgary last week. That show — which featured Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, and Colbie Caillat –drew just 9,000 people to a stadium that holds approximately 35,000.

“We are in the midst of one of the most challenging summer concert seasons with many tours being cancelled outright,” Lilith co-founder Terry McBride said in a statement. “Everyone involved with the tour would like to apologise to the fans and artists scheduled to play in these markets, and express appreciation for all the support for the festival’s return. Lilith remains the only tour of its kind, and we are confident that fans will be amazed by what each date has to offer.”

Here are the affected tour stops: Salt Lake City (July 12), Montreal (July 23), Raleigh, N.C. (Aug. 4), Charlotte, NC (Aug. 6), West Palm Beach, Fla. (Aug. 10), Tampa, Fla. (Aug. 11), Birmingham, Ala. (Aug. 12), Austin (Aug. 14), Houston (Aug. 15) and Dallas (Aug. 16).

Refunds are available to ticketholders at the point of purchase.