Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule died in a house fire in Woodbury, Minnesota, on May 1, 2025. Reports suggest that the cause of her death was smoke inhalation or other factors from the blaze. She was 66.
Sobule was best known first for the 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl,” then “Supermodel” from the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless. She released eight studio albums of original songs, four EPs, and a greatest hits compilation album. Sobule’s semi-autobiographical musical, F**k 7th Grade, opened at the Wild Project Theater in New York City in October 2022 and had several runs there. Her most recent album was F**k 7th Grade: Original Cast Recording (2025).
A series of tribute events, Jillith Fair – Loving Jill Sobule, celebrate Sobule’s life and music. On what would have been her 67th birthday, January 16, many of Sobule’s friends and fans gathered at City Winery NYC for a tribute concert entitled Jillith Fair – Loving Jill Sobule Birthday Bash to benefit the Jill Sobule Legacy Fund. Tammy Faye Starlite and Richard Barone hosted the event. Antigone Rising, BETTY, Tracy Bonham, the Chapin Sisters, John Cowsill & Vicki Peterson, Marshall Crenshaw, Vance Gilbert, Jenni Muldaur, Judith Owen, Wesley Stace, Tony Trischka, Loudon Wainwright III, Lucy Wainwright Roche and other musicians performed Sobule’s songs. The house band, Jill’s Jagoffs, included Joe McGinty and David Mansfield.
A slide show flanking both sides of City Winery’s stage featured photographs of Sobule, alternating with quotes about her from musician friends and publications.
- “A witty satirist and die hard Broncos & Nuggets fan; I will surely miss laughing with her about sports and crying with her about politics and vice versa.” – Tom Morello
- “She was so smart, so funny, so creative, and so talented. We toured together and had some of the funniest adventures… I’m gonna miss her, her work, her humor.” – Cyndi Lauper
- “Let us listen to her music to honor the wonderful singer-songwriter she was.” – Tracy Chapman
- “‘Mexican Wrestler’ is a perfect song. Rest in power my friend.” – Margaret Cho
- “Jill Sobule can claim her place among the stellar New York singer-songwriters of the last decade. Topical, funny and more than a little poignant …grown-up music for an adolescent age.” – New York Times
- “Sobule offered some kind of vision for what a different future might be…every song on her 1995 self-titled album upended the pre-set systems for what mattered.” – VOGUE
- “With a sharp wit and a playwright’s dramatic sense, Sobule wrote about characters squaring their internal lives with the way the world views them, and she had a flair for vividly drawn scenes in which people make discoveries about themselves.” – Los Angeles Times
- “Touchstones hang around—manifestos live forever.” – Rolling Stone
- “She changed an important conversation and furthered an entire movement in her own way with her art.” – Forbes
- “When we think of the great songwriters with a capital “S” that littered the landscape of American lyricists, Sobule should unquestionably be there among that pantheon of scribes.” – FLOOD Magazine
The Jill Sobule Legacy Fund was established to carry on Sobule’s legacy, keep her songs alive, and help raise funds for the charities Jill championed. Going forward, Jillith Fair – Loving Jill Sobule events are designed to be annual events during her birthday month and during June Pride Month. Birthday Bash shows are happening this month in five additional locations.
- January 16, The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN
- January 17, The Parlor Room, Northampton, MA
- January 23, FAI International Conference, New Orleans, LA
- January 24, The Fallser Club, Philadelphia, PA.
- January 24, Swallow Hill Music, Denver, CO
June Pride Month shows will be announced this spring in Cambridge, MA, Los Angeles, CA, Minneapolis, MN, New York, NY, Seattle, WA, Woodstock, NY, and additional US cities. A Jillith event will happen in October in Pittsburgh, PA.
Jillith Fair setlist at City Winery NYC, January 16, 2026
- Antigone Rising, “Underdog Victorious”
- Amy Rigby, “Where Is Bobbie Gentry?”
- Marshall Crenshaw, “Jet Pack”
- Jill’s Jagoffs, “What Do I Do With My Tongue”
- Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, “Bitter”
- Wesley Stace, “Rock Me to Sleep”
- The Chapin Sisters, “Now That I Don’t Have You”
- Jenni Muldaur, “Cinnamon Park”
- Vance Gilbert, “Super 8”
- Tammy Faye Starlite, “When They Say They Want Our America Back, What the F**k Do They Mean?” (with a verse of “America” from West Side Story)
- Lucy Wainwright Roche, “Sold My Soul”
- Loudon Wainwright III, “Joey”
- Tony Trischka and Tracy Bonham, “San Francisco”
- Richard Barone and Tony Trischka, “Odd Girl Out”
- Judith Owen, “Houdini’s Box”
- BETTY, “Mexican Wrestler”
- Tracy Bonham, “Where Do I Begin”
- Tracy Bonham, “Island of Lost Things”
- Jill’s Jagoffs and Richard Barone, “Supermodel”
- Amy Rigby, Vicki Peterson, Jenni Muldaur, and Richard Barone, “I Kissed a Girl”
- Ensemble Finale, “A Good Life”
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