Four female singer/songwriters will attempt to fill the void left by Lilith Fair's absence this summer with a tour of their own.

The Girls Room tour — featuring Kendall Payne, Tara MacLean, Amy Correia and Shannon McNally — will hit clubs around the country on a monthlong tour beginning Monday.

The idea for the trek came to Capitol Records' A&R Director Perry Watts-Russell during one of the dates of last year's final Lilith tour.

"Perry and I were hanging out at Lilith and overheard this girl saying, 'What are we going to do next year without all these women touring?' " said Payne, who performed on the all-female Lilith tour last year. "Perry wanted to tell her there were these great female songwriters he could put on tour."

At each stop on the Girls Room tour, local female acoustic artists will compete for a chance to open the show. The openers then will have a chance to be chosen as the closer at the tour's Aug. 8 finale at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. The winner also will record a demo at Capitol's studios.

Payne said she especially appreciated that the tour would be lending a hand to aspiring songwriters, since "that's what's happened to all of us."

Tour sponsor Stayfree and Capitol Records also will donate $1,000 to a women's charity in each city the tour visits.

"These are all very sweet women, and I really am looking forward to being on the road," Payne said. "Amy [Correia] and I bonded right off the bat. She's a quirky, wonderful songwriter and very true to her art."

Correia will release her debut, Carnival Love, in September. Payne released her debut, Jordan's Sister, last year. The album's "Supermodels" (RealAudio excerpt) was chosen as the theme song for the WB television series "Popular."

MacLean played the Lilith Fair each of its three years, the only other artist besides founder and fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan to do so. MacLean's major-label debut, Passenger, was released Feb. 29.

Philadelphia newcomer McNally was discovered by Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies, according to a spokesperson at Capitol. McNally's debut is due in the fall.

Girls Room tour dates:

July 10; Seattle, Wash.; Century Ballroom

July 11; Portland, Ore.; Aladdin Theatre

July 13; San Francisco, Calif.; Slim's

July 14; San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; Coach House

July 15; San Diego, Calif.; Cane's

July 17; Salt Lake City, Utah; Zephyr Club

July 18; Denver, Colo.; Bluebird Theater

July 20; St. Louis, Mo.; Side Door

July 21; Chicago, Ill.; Double Door

July 22; Minneapolis, Minn.; Fine Line Music Cafe

July 24; Pontiac, Mich.; 7th House

July 25; Toronto, Ontario; Phoenix Concert Theatre

July 27; Boston, Mass.; Karma Lounge

July 28; New York, N.Y.; Bowery Ballroom

July 30; Nashville, Tenn.; 3rd & Lindsley

July 31; Atlanta, Ga.; Cotton Club

Aug. 2; Houston, Texas; Instant Karma

Aug. 3; Austin, Texas; La Zona Rosa

Aug. 4; Dallas, Texas; Gypsy Tea Room

Aug. 7; Las Vegas, Nev.; Crossroads at House of Blues

Aug. 8; West Hollywood, Calif.; Roxy Theater