Sarah Mclachlan

"I was very much in the middle of the elements," recalls Sarah McLachlan speaking from a tour stop in Athens, Ga. "I was sitting in a cabin in the woods in the mountains. I had no neighbors. I had a river running behind the house. It was incredibly beautiful and also very pristine. " After 14 months with 13 people on one bus, McLachlan repaired to a remote spot in the Laurentian Mountains (north of Montreal) last year to find solace and create Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Arista).

No wonder Sarah McLachlan is putting the kibosh on the Lilith Fair. The femme fest - which played Camden's Waterfront Entertainment Centre on Friday, with McLachlan joined by Sheryl Crow, the Pretenders, the Dixie Chicks and Me'Shell Ndegeocello - made zeitgeist headlines in 1997 and did boffo business its first two seasons. Plus, the Canadian songstress' concoction has been a corporate sponsor's dream, a perfect opportunity for car and skin-care companies to make a show of their support for, say, breast-cancer research, while zeroing in on an affluent, four-fifths female audience.

THE QUARTET OF thirtysomething women chatted happily as they wandered through the lobby of the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, talking about the acts they'd see at this year's Lilith women's music festival. But on entering the "shed" a look of horror came over one gal's face. She gazed upon the sea of empty seats and despaired, "Hey, where is everybody?" Where, indeed? For some concertgoers - and even more so, some concert promoters - summer 2010 is proving a season of discontent and disappointment.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (3 p.m., NBC10) - Ellen celebrates her mother's 80th birthday; Antonio Banderas. The Oprah Winfrey Show (4 p.m., 6ABC) - Simon Cowell reflects on being a judge on American Idol ; the new documentary Babies . Grey's Anatomy (9 p.m., 6ABC) - Mandy Moore guest-stars in the two-hour season finale, as the hospital is hit with an unprecedented crisis. The Office (9 p.m., NBC10) - When the press learns that Sabre's printers catch on fire, Jo (guest star Kathy Bates)

Pop perennial Tony Bennett will be mingling and performing with a big crop of young alternative rock acts when he headlines WDRE's Holiday Acoustic Benefit Concert tomorrow night at Egypt. Once a rock-hater, Bennett made his peace with the contemporary music crew at the last MTV Music Video Awards ceremony, where the crooner was paired at the podium with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea - a self-professing fan of the man who immortalized "I Left My Heart in San Francisco. " Recently, MTV has been returning the favor by showcasing Bennett's video of "Stepping Out with My Baby" from his "Stepping Out" Fred Astaire tribute album.

Nas & Damian Marley Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones - Nas for short - is the toast of Long Island, N.Y., whose incendiary raps and street-centric prose have made him a poet laureate of the hip-hop nation. Damian Marley - "Jr. Gong" to some - is a son of Jamaica and its most legendary songwriter. His work as an innovator in the production and creation of future-forward reggae and jamrock is equally ferocious. Together, the pair fused their inscrutable talents for one of 2010's most powerful recordings, Distant Relatives.

Will Smith's been gone from Philadelphia for what, 10, 15 years now? But the actor/rapper still plays up his Philly roots. Opening last night's Grammys, Smith sported the Men In Black suit, danced with some Kiddies in Black, before switching into a Phillies jersey and cap to perform "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It. " And indeed Smith, known for his safe, commercial-style rap, got jiggy, winning a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance for "Men...

The Talk (2 p.m., CBS3) - The View gets a major competitor, with chatters Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, and Marissa Jaret Winokur. The Ellen DeGeneres Show (3 p.m., NBC10) - Russell Brand; Kyle Massey; dancer Lacey Schwimmer. The Oprah Winfrey Show (4 p.m., 6ABC) - A 16-year-old boy who killed his molester. Chuck (8 p.m., NBC10) - Chuck has to decide what he is willing to sacrifice to find his mother. House (8 p.m., Fox29)

THE QUARTET OF thirtysomething women chatted happily as they wandered through the lobby of the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, talking about the acts they'd see at this year's Lilith women's music festival. But on entering the "shed" a look of horror came over one gal's face. She gazed upon the sea of empty seats and despaired, "Hey, where is everybody?" Where, indeed? For some concertgoers - and even more so, some concert promoters - summer 2010 is proving a season of discontent and disappointment.

It's been labeled everything from an estrogenfest full of aging hippies to an empowering, inspiring celebration of women and sisterhood. And this summer, after an 11-year hiatus, Lilith Fair is back - battling lagging ticket sales and cancellations from major acts, but still going strong. On Wednesday, it made a stop at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden. "I've been to every Lilith Fair," said Kristina Diviny, 36, of Cherry Hill. She was stretched out on a blanket with three friends, all sipping beers, while strains of music from Jill Hennessy, the Crossing Jordan actress now embarking on a music career, drifted over the grass.

Nas & Damian Marley Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones - Nas for short - is the toast of Long Island, N.Y., whose incendiary raps and street-centric prose have made him a poet laureate of the hip-hop nation. Damian Marley - "Jr. Gong" to some - is a son of Jamaica and its most legendary songwriter. His work as an innovator in the production and creation of future-forward reggae and jamrock is equally ferocious. Together, the pair fused their inscrutable talents for one of 2010's most powerful recordings, Distant Relatives.

At one of the Court Yard Hounds ' recent stints on the female-artist-celebrating Lilith Tour (landing here Wednesday), Emily Robison decided to introduce a favorite tune as "a classic chicks' song. " Uh, maybe that was not the best turn-of-phrase to deploy? "The audience started to roar in anticipation," shared Martie Maguire , Emily's sister and the other harmonizing voice and fiddling dynamo of the duo. "I'm sure they thought we were going into a Dixie Chicks song, not one of our favorites by Joni Mitchell.