Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan (born January 28, 1968, Halifax, Nova Scotia), is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for intimate ballads and introspective music. She's also famous above all for Lilith Fair (1997), the all-female touring concert series she created, which broke through the music business's entrenched sexism.

As a girl, McLachlan received classical training in guitar, piano and voice. But rebelling against a conservative upbringing, she soon developed a passion for rock movements such as 80s punk and new wave. She was discovered by an executive at a Canadian record label at age 17, when she was the singer of October Game. After two years at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, McLachlan moved to Vancouver, where she signed her first record deal, releasing her debut album, "Touch", in 1988. A record that immediately showcased the hallmarks of her compositional and musical style, always elegant and reflective. The following album, "Solace" (1991), moved through even more rarefied atmospheres; it was followed by "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" (1992), a work featuring Pierre Marchand, who had already collaborated with Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan), helping to make her sound even more sophisticated. Three years later came "The Freedom Sessions" (1995).

In 1997 came "Surfacing", the Canadian artist's fourth album, which achieved great success, highlighting McLachlan's talent as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. What left the deepest impression were especially her vocal range and the intensity of her performances. Qualities on full display in an intensely personal album written after months of soul-searching. The raw honesty of songs like "Sweet Surrender" and "Building a Mystery" earned Sarah McLachlan two Grammy Awards, for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Instrumental. She was also honored with Canada's Juno Awards for Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.

In 1997 McLachlan had the idea of a lifetime: founding Lilith Fair, a touring all-female festival that would bring together some of the most talented and popular artists in music, from Suzanne Vega to Sheryl Crow, from Sinéad O'Connor to Fiona Apple, from Aimee Mann to Natalie Merchant, from Erykah Badu to Janelle Monáe. Led by the new-age Lilith herself, Sarah McLachlan, women reclaimed the stage (and the audience) in the face of the music business's sexism, for a touring festival that would make history, proving to skeptical record executives that female artists could draw crowds just as well as their male counterparts. It was writer Buffy Childerhose who suggested the name "Lilith Fair" to her, which sounded absolutely perfect, not least because the word "fair" also carries a notion of equality and inclusiveness. The festival kicked off with a triumphant parade of stars in the summer of 1997, continuing in 1998 and 1999 with huge audience success and, consequently, much grumbling from detractors, who didn't hesitate to coin tawdry terms like "Lesbopalooza" in a vain attempt to boycott it. More than 130 dates across North America, featuring roughly 300 artists, including undisputed stars of the era's female rock and singer-songwriter scene — such as Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Sinéad O'Connor, Aimee Mann, Natalie Merchant, Liz Phair, etc. — as well as older rock lionesses like Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde, Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris, rising Black divas — from Erykah Badu to Janelle Monáe — and all-female groups (from Cibo Matto to the Indigo Girls, not to mention Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles). And, contrary to the doom-and-gloom predictions of record executives, crowds showed up in droves: more than 1.5 million people, for a gross of 52 million dollars, ten million of which went to charitable organizations supporting women.

The 2010 revival edition would be more bittersweet, hampered by financial troubles, cancellations and assorted defections. But Lilith Fair will go down in the annals as one of rock history's defining moments, the day women decided to join forces and start a revolution, in the name of music.

Having set aside the thrilling experience of Lilith Fair, which also earned her the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Visionary Award — named after the activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, for her support of women in music (1998) — Sarah McLachlan went on with her solo career through ups and downs, nonetheless confirming her reputation as a songwriter with a delicate, intimate touch. Her subsequent albums include the live record "Mirrorball" (1999), "Afterglow" (2003), "Laws Of Illusion" (2010), and "Shine On" (2014), for which she won the Juno Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. Sarah McLachlan has also released two Christmas song collections: "Wintersong" (2006) and "Wonderland" (2016).

Among her biggest hits are songs such as "The Path Of Thorns", "Into The Fire", "Possession", "Building A Mystery", "Sweet Surrender", "Adia", "Angel", "I Will Remember You", "World On Fire" and "Answer".

In 1997 Sarah McLachlan married her drummer, Ashwin Sood, from whom she announced her separation in 2008. They have two daughters, India, born in 2002, and Taa-Jah, born in 2007.

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