Sarah McLachlan

Summary

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Good Hang with Amy Poehler — Episode Summary

Guest: Sarah McLachlan

Host: Amy Poehler
Released: Feb 17, 2026
Producer: The Ringer

Episode Overview

In this lively and heartfelt episode, Amy Poehler welcomes iconic singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. The two dive deep into Sarah’s Canadian roots, her rise in music, the genesis and impact of Lilith Fair, her experience as a female artist, motherhood, and the power of community. With guest questions from Sheryl Crow and nostalgic highlights from Lilith Fair's legacy, the episode is packed with personal anecdotes, laughter, and candid wisdom. The tone is relaxed, open, and celebratory—a true "good hang" between old friends.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sheryl Crow Kicks Things Off (02:35 – 07:56)

• Sheryl Crow joins for a warm, funny opening segment, sharing her affection for Amy and telling stories about being on the road, moving to Nashville, and her personal resilience.
• Memorable moment: Cheryl credits Sarah for creating Lilith Fair, recalling how hard it was for women to be booked on bills:

  “Every time... I can remember calling my agent and saying, can I get some women on a bill?... people won't buy tickets to see two women on a bill.” (05:13, Sheryl Crow)

• Both reflect on how Lilith Fair exemplified female community and creative joy, with Cheryl describing it as a “gentle fuck you to the norms.” (05:59)
• Questions for Sarah:
  • What would she do if not for music?
  • Did she always know she’d “make it” as a musician?

2. Growing Up in Canada and Early Music (10:04 – 16:25)

• Sarah describes Canadians as “polite by nature,” crediting her Irish parents for constant humility.
• Early epiphany: Grade 7 talent show, singing “The Gambler”—despite being bullied and technical mishaps, she felt validated by her own talent.

  “They refused to acknowledge that it was me singing, but I knew I felt good about it.” (12:18, Sarah)

• Musical influences: Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell.
• Classical training: 12 years classical guitar, 6 years piano, 4 years voice.
• Record deal at 19 after a chance club gig in Vancouver.

3. Breakthrough, Naivete, and First Successes (16:25 – 17:54)

• Sarah recalls her first time hearing herself on the radio—VOX came on while riding in a taxi.

  “We just started screaming... that’s me on the radio!” (17:10, Sarah)

4. The Life of Songs, Impact, and “Angel” (18:40 – 22:33)

• Discussing how songs take on lives of their own, often surprising the artist with their impact.
• Sarah remarks on the power of “Angel”:

  “Angel felt like I was just a vessel, and it just came through me in, like, two days and it was done.” (20:31, Sarah)

• Association with animal rescue and raising millions for the SPCA, to the point “Angel” was too synonymous with charity to be played at other events.

5. Lilith Fair: Origin and Legacy (25:13 – 34:32)

• The isolation of being a woman on the road led Sarah to seek out female collaborators, starting by inviting Paula Cole to tour.
• Lilith Fair was born from seeing the lack of women on musical bills and wanting to build community:

  “It was a celebration of much of the great music that was being made by women in the late 90s.” (26:50, Sarah)

• Recounting industry resistance:
  “You can’t put more than two women on a stage.” (27:44, Sarah)
• Sarah and Amy discuss the utopian, collaborative, and family-centered backstage environment—“a fair” in every sense.
• Lilith Fair’s lasting legacy: $7 million+ raised for charities, health insurance for crew, community support, dynamic diversity (after adjustments begun in its second year).
• Notable challenge: overcoming industry and media skepticism, as well as the “white chick folk fest” critique.

6. Lilith Fair Lineup and Iconic Artists (36:15 – 40:40)

• Reminiscing about diverse stars who joined: Paula Cole, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott (her first major tour!), Indigo Girls, Pat Benatar, Emmylou Harris, Sinead O’Connor (“...being in the presence of a goddess”), Tracy Chapman.
• Powerful quote on Sinead O’Connor:

  “She was a little shit as well. Like, she was super playful, like a jokester, prankster. We had so much fun together.” (38:24, Sarah)

7. Women’s Community, Generational Change, and Media Critique (40:40 – 45:39)

• The challenges faced by older generations of female artists: “They grew up at a time when we were being offered a tiny sliver of the pie and were in competition with each other.”
• Discussion of internalized misogyny and learning to break free, referencing music journalist Ann Powers and media skepticism toward Lilith Fair.
• Sarah explains the press conferences held in every Lilith Fair city—painful yet crucial for giving visibility to local charities and correcting media narratives.

  “[Press conferences] were typically annoying and demeaning… why do you hate men? Why aren’t you doing this? You’re too much of this, you’re not enough of that. Don’t be too pretty. Don’t be too loud. Oh, you’re too quiet. Like you can’t win.” (44:12, Sarah)

8. Motherhood and Daughters (47:52 – 54:53)

• Sheryl Crow’s questions:
  • If Sarah hadn’t done music: “Either a hairdresser or a jewelry designer.” (48:06, Sarah)
  • Did she know she’d make it? “No... I didn’t even know what that meant.” (49:00, Sarah)
• Joy in having her daughters sing on her new record, “One in a Long Line”—a song confronting the erosion of women’s rights and expressing hope and love.
• Honest conversation on parenting struggles, generational cycles, and therapy:

  “...the way I was communicating to her was just making her feel shitty about herself instead of building her up, which was completely the opposite of what I thought I was doing.” (53:09, Sarah)

• Open discussion on the pressures and unrealistic expectations on mothers, and the importance of women supporting each other by sharing struggles honestly.

9. Menopause, Sleep, and Self-Care (55:55 – 59:38)

• Candid talk about the lack of information and conversation on menopause, medical dismissiveness, and how social media has helped make experiences more visible.
• Sleep routine: Sarah attributes her improved sleep to estrogen/progesterone therapy and “red light therapy”—lying under a red light panel before bed to relax her body (“Red light therapy has been my friend.” 57:10, Sarah).
• On skate-skiing, being outside, and healthy routines.

10. Rapid Fire Q&A (59:39 – 61:23)

• Who’s on Sarah’s Spotify Wrapped? “Phoebe Bridgers... or Boygenius.”
• Best Canadian city? “Vancouver.” (60:20)
• Best thing about being Canadian: “Healthcare.” (60:33)
• Surfing or paddleboarding: “Surfing.” (60:36)
• On her SNL experiences (1997 with Rudy Giuliani), memories of Anna Gasteyer’s “Basted in Blood” sketch.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Lilith Fair’s defiance:
  “It was a little bit of a... gentle fuck you to the norms.” — Sheryl Crow (05:59)
• On Sinead O’Connor:
  “...it’s like being in the presence of a goddess. When she opens up her mouth and starts to sing, it’s just... it’s otherworldly.” — Sarah McLachlan (38:24)
• On motherhood:
  “...the way I was communicating to her was just making her feel shitty about herself instead of building her up, which was completely the opposite of what I thought I was doing.” — Sarah McLachlan (53:09)
• On making music as activism:
  “Now is not the time to be silent or complacent... I have to say something about this. I’m so frustrated and angry and scared. And I have two daughters and they’re going into the world...” — Sarah McLachlan (51:47)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:35] Sheryl Crow’s intro and Lilith Fair origin stories
• [10:04] Sarah’s Canadian childhood and musical upbringing
• [16:25] Early career, first radio play
• [20:31] The creation and impact of “Angel”
• [25:13] Inviting Paula Cole; Lilith Fair’s genesis
• [26:50] What was Lilith Fair and why it mattered
• [34:32] Lilith Fair’s diversity, evolution, and artist recruitment
• [38:24] Sinead O’Connor, Tracy Chapman, iconic moments
• [44:12] Lilith Fair in the media and handling press challenges
• [47:52] Sheryl Crow’s questions: alternate careers, “making it”
• [51:47] Writing songs with her daughters; activism in art
• [53:09] Parenting, mother-daughter relationships, therapy
• [57:10] Menopause, sleep, red light therapy
• [59:39] Rapid-fire questions and SNL memories

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Final Thoughts & Tone

The episode is warm, forthright, and filled with mutual admiration, reflective humor, and honest takes on being a trailblazer, both as a woman in music and as a mother. The friendship between Amy and Sarah, joined by Sheryl Crow’s affectionate insights, gives listeners a seat at an inspiring, deeply human conversation that celebrates resilience, creativity, and the magic of women supporting women.

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Highly recommended for anyone interested in music, feminism, creative community, and the enduring power of women’s voices.

Transcript

[Amy Poehler]

This episode is brought to you by CarMax. You know when people are like you, do you? Yeah. Well, that's what it's like buying a car. With CarMax, you can shop however you want, which could be online while you're on the sofa in your pajamas, or in store where you can test drive every car, ask every question and lock down every detail. Plus, they've got options to keep your wallet happy. Visit carmax.com to learn more and find a car within your budget today. Want to drive CarMax? Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Very excited about our guest today. It is the one, the only, Sarah McLachlan. I mean, so many hits. Such an incredible singer, started Lilith Fair, created a music school. I mean, she's just awesome and talented and nice and funny. And Sarah and I are gonna talk about a lot of things. We're gonna talk about growing up in Canada and whether those lakes ever get warm. The answer is no. We're gonna talk about Lilith Fair, what it took to start it and make it and keep it going. We're gonna talk about her new music, making music with her daughters and being a woman in the world today. So many good things. Also, I should let you know at one point I have a coughing fit and it is really embarrassing. And Sarah's so cool about it. Cause of course she is. She's the coolest. So thank you, Sarah. Before we get started, we always like to ask people that know our guests to give us a question and talk well behind their back and forth. We have a great one today. Also, just an incredible musical artist in her own right. Would love to get her in here to talk about stuff. The one, the only, the multi Grammy award winning Sheryl Crow, everybody. Sheryl. This episode of Good Hang is presented by Uber eats. Big news. Aldi is now on Uber Eats and you get 20% off your first grocery order with code NEWALDI26. So whether your fridge is empty and you're too tired to shop or you just ran out of essential ingredients in the middle of meal prep, don't worry. Fill your fridge in just a few taps and get 20% off your first Aldi order on Uber Eats. For orders over $60, you can save up to $20. Ends February 28, 2026. Terms apply. See app for details.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Amy?

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, my God. I can't believe I'm talking to you.

[Sheryl Crow]

I can't tell you. I. In fact, it's funny. Are we on?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, we're on.

[Sheryl Crow]

Well, I'll just tell you. I texted Adam Scott I was driving home from visiting my parents in Missouri. Three and a half hour drive. And my mom's not making memories anymore, so it's always a hard drive back. And I listened to you and Adam on the way back and I laughed, like for literally off and on the whole way. It was the greatest gift ever. So great.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, thanks. Did you say you texted Adam?

[Sheryl Crow]

I did. I texted him right, like right after that.

[Amy Poehler]

Wait, are you guys friends? I didn't know that.

[Sheryl Crow]

Well, actually, it's funny.

[Amy Poehler]

We were married in a past life.

[Sheryl Crow]

No, I met him. I met him on the Kansas City. The Big Slick.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, yeah, that fundraiser they do every year.

[Sheryl Crow]

It's the funnest thing ever. And I'm from Missouri, so I kind of like edged my way in there and I met him through that and. Oh, my God, he and Paul Rudd and. I mean, it's just. It's all your people, but it's so much fun.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, Cheryl, that means a lot. I love you. Where are we talking to you from?

[Sheryl Crow]

I'm in Nashville. I'm in the. Technically the sun room, but is pouring here. I mean, it's literally. Nashville is like the rainforest now.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, I always. I always associate you with Austin. But you're out of Austin, into Nashville.

[Sheryl Crow]

Yeah, I moved. Actually, kind of. I moved from Austin to Nashville. I got. I. I was engaged, got diagnosed with breast cancer, split up, moved to Nashville basically all in and had LASIK surgery, most importantly, all in the process of like three weeks.

[Amy Poehler]

You know what? This just leads me to my.

[Sheryl Crow]

I don't.

[Amy Poehler]

It's not even a question, it's just an observation.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Just.

[Amy Poehler]

Women are amazing. I mean, I just. I can't. It's just like everyone should be saying this every day. The things you just listed would take any man down.

[Sheryl Crow]

You just pick it up and keep on moving.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, I'm. I've been. You know, we're going to. We're talking to Sarah McLachlan today, and I had the pleasure of watching the Lilith Fair doc and. Two things. One, that whole experience to me feels like just a great version of what we're talking about, which is creativity for creativity's sake. Like watching artists kind of try to find the fun part.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

But it also reminded me of how cool you are, Sheryl Crow. Like, every single time you come on stage, I'm like, God, look at Sheryl's outfit. Look at her hair. Anyway, no, go on.

[Sheryl Crow]

I have time. No, I'm kidding. That is so nice. I will tell you, that tour was not like anything I Ever experienced. And the whole thing came about at such a strange Lollapalooza was happening. And every time I can remember calling my agent and saying, can I get some women on a bill? I'd love to tour with Amy Mann. And every time it would like, yeah, people won't buy tickets to see two women on. On a bill.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Particularly men.

[Sheryl Crow]

Men won't. And around that time, Sarah had this crazy idea and she wound up calling me and I was just, God, it's just a perfect time for it. All that to say is that what we took out on the stage was. It was defiance, but it was also like community.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It was a little bit of a.

[Sheryl Crow]

Gentle fuck you to the norms. The fact that, yeah, there were quite a few, you know, there were quite a few gay women in the audience, but there were as many families and as many heterosexual couples and as many men. I mean, it was totally everything. So it defied what all the agents and the promoters were saying. Like, you're just going to wind up with an audience full of women and they're.

[Amy Poehler]

And they're not going to.

[Sheryl Crow]

They're not the ones that buy tickets. And she really defied that in her beautiful, genteel, gypsy way. And she brought everybody along with it. It was. It felt like we were taking a party out on the stage and hopefully people did feel like they were included. Yeah, I had a brilliant conversation with Brandi Carlisle about it. And her being in the audience as a young, you know, as a young girl and wanting to do what we were up there doing. And there's. There's such beautiful power in that. It really was not like anything else that I've ever been a part of.

[Amy Poehler]

I always ask my, my guests a question from someone that knows them well. And Is there a question you have for Sarah that you think I should ask her?

[Sheryl Crow]

I mean, one of the things I always think is interesting. Well, two things. What would she be doing if she wasn't doing music? Because it's so much a part of her. I mean, she has her own school and. But I think about that. I was a school teacher, so I'm always like, well, if it doesn't, I still go. I still say this. If it doesn't work out, I'll go back to teaching school.

[Amy Poehler]

If it doesn't work out.

[Sheryl Crow]

If it doesn't work out, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so I'll ask Sarah about that. That's a great question. Anything else?

[Sheryl Crow]

Yeah, this is something that I just find interesting with people who wind up making it. Ask Sarah if she just always knew she was going to make it. Like, did she just know she was going to be doing what she's doing? Because I don't think I ever knew I was going to be doing this.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Until.

[Sheryl Crow]

I was like maybe eight years in.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Great question.

[Amy Poehler]

Cheryl Crow, I love you. Thank you so much for doing this.

[Sheryl Crow]

I love you.

[Amy Poehler]

This episode is brought to you by Subaru. For me, going the extra mile means taking the long way home. If you're going to grab snacks and the 10 minute trip turns into a two hour journey, suddenly you're on a new street. Then your ice cream is melted in the back and you know, we've solved the meaning of life. But luckily in my Subaru Hybrid, that's right, I have one and I love it. That extra mile is built right in with longer range and better fuel efficiency than ever before. The Subaru Forester Hybr and the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. Great cards. I have them both. Love goes the extra mile. Visit subaru.com hybrid to learn more. Sarah McLachlan is here. I just had a major coughing fit before we started.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's good to get it out beforehand.

[Amy Poehler]

It made me think about, what do you do when you're singing and you have to cough?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, that's tricky.

[Amy Poehler]

What do you do on screening?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, you cough and you just, you know, it's one of those, the show has to go on, but you're like, I'm just gonna need a moment and pack and take a. You and take a drink and go, you know. Can't blame that one on menopause. That's a whole lot. I can, but not that one.

[Amy Poehler]

Have you ever thrown up on stage?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No.

[Amy Poehler]

Almost. I have a fear of that.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Almost. Oh, shit. Yeah. I was doing the tree lighting at Rockefeller. We were doing a Christmas show and. Oh yeah. And I was freshly pregnant. Oh, yeah. And was just heinously ill. Like just green 24 7. And I remember being, you know, it's very public and you're doing this, you know, your sound check and everybody's watching and I'm just looking in the corners. Okay. There's a poinsettia over there. I'm just like, where's a quiet corner that I can go hurl in front of everybody?

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, the glamour. There's so many things to talk about today. I'm thrilled that you're here. Like when we talk about the guests that we want to have on the.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Show.

[Amy Poehler]

And your name came up, we thought we were like, that would be a dream.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, thank you.

[Amy Poehler]

And so let's start by going back because you grew up in Canada.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And we started this interview with me apologizing and saying, sorry, sorry, sorry. Which does sound very Canadian. I love a Canadian. They're the best. They're so nice. Are they as friendly as people think they are?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Generally speaking, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Why do you think that is?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I don't know. We just. We kind of are. I mean, you know, there's assholes everywhere, but generally I think we're polite for one thing. That's for sure. I think by nature that's sort of like, you know, there's a certain thing you uphold of just being civil and polite to everybody.

[Amy Poehler]

I know there's an. A Canadian attitude that's really lovely to be around, which is basically.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And I think.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, I think a lot of it has to do with the weather, which is basically like, you can either choose to complain or you can get on with it.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, it's true. There's certainly a solid amount of, you know, suck it up, buttercup. Yeah. You just don't get anywhere by complaining.

[Amy Poehler]

No.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Also, you know, Irish parents is like, don't go thinking anything special.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, big time. That's very. That's very Boston, too. Like, very. Yeah, like. Like you can't. Like, just don't kind of fall in love with yourself, you know, and we're here to drag you back down.

[Sarah McLachlan]

We're gonna humble you every step of the way if you do.

[Amy Poehler]

So you grew up in Canada, and when did you realize, you know, you had this gift. You knew that music was gonna be part of your life forever. Do you remember the feeling when you were young that you knew, I think I'm good at this. Or I think I really wanna do this. What was it?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Grade 7 variety show? And I have to preface this with saying I was really bullied. I was terribly unpopular, and this was my opportunity for redemption. I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna prove myself to my community. And I got up there and I sang the Gambler by Kenny Rogers on acoustic guitar. Is it.

[Amy Poehler]

You got to know when to hold. You got to know when to hold them.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Know when to fold them.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, I mean, when to walk away.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Know when to run.

[Amy Poehler]

Makes sense that a seventh grade girl.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Would relate to that. I don't know. I just loved Kenny Rogers.

[Amy Poehler]

Anyway, same.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So I got up there to sing this song, and I got about halfway through it and the mic stopped working. Oh, God. And so my moment, you know, my triumphant moment was, you know, dashed. Cause everybody said, oh, that wasn't really you singing? The tape player must have turned off. They refused to acknowledge that it was me singing, but I knew I felt good about it, and I felt even better about it that they refused to believe it was actually me, and they thought it was a recorded version of something that obviously sounded a little more professional. So. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so you're in Canada. You're a young person who's realizing, I have something special. Who are you listening to? At the time, when I was really.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Young, other than Kenny Rogers, it was Simon Agarfunkel. Cat Stevens. Yes. Joan Baez. Joni Mitchell.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. And then you learning how to play how.

[Sarah McLachlan]

When I was 4, I wanted to be Joan Baez, so my mom got me ukulele and I started taking lessons. We lived in a little subdivision, so up the street there was a little old lady who taught ukulele. And so I walked up there every week and took lessons. And then when we moved into the city when I was seven, I started with the Royal Conservatory of Music, which was kind of classical music was at the time, kind of the only legitimate thing, way to learn an instrument. So I took classical guitar for 12 years, took classical piano for six years, I took voice for four years. And, you know, it was a fantastic foundation to learn how to play the instrument, but it was never really my jam.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so then you're listening to all these incredible singer songwriters, and you decide you want to be a singer songwriter, and you get a record deal at 19.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

How did that happen?

[Sarah McLachlan]

So the very first band that I was in when I was 17, the October game, we played a gig at the D University Sub Ballroom, and we opened up for a band called Mauve, and they were on a small independent label in Vancouver. And the guitar player, singer of the band heard me sing and was like, we want you to come out to Vancouver and join our band.

[Amy Poehler]

And I'm like, cool, cool.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I'm 17.

[Amy Poehler]

That sounds great.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So I ran home to my mom and dad, who, you know, promptly said, are you effing crazy? Not a chance you're going to finish high school. And so I was still listening to them at that time, smartly. So I squeaked by high school and then started going to the art college there. And I was working at a place called Club Flamingo. And Terry McBride, the president of the label, came with their band, Skinny Puppy, which was this industrial. Do you remember Skinny Puppy?

[Amy Poehler]

Skinny Puppy, Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Blood and guts and mud and gore. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Anyway, very different than your music.

[Sarah McLachlan]

A little bit different.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

A little bit different. So he Came. And I remember so clearly, I was playing Quicksilver, my favorite pinball game, and I was working on my high score. And he's like, hey, I want to. I want to talk to you. I'm like, yeah, yeah, give me a minute. So waited till I finished and he took me out to his plush blue velvet tour bus and sat me down at the kitchen table and put a contract for me. Said, we want to offer you a five record deal. Whoa. And I was like, yeah, sure. What do you have? Like, what do you really want? Does anybody know I'm here?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, there's too much plush in here.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, yeah. But no, he was serious. And originally they wanted me to come out to Vancouver and work with a bunch of other network bands. Then when I got out there, they're like, all these other network bands hadn't been asked and like, we're not gonna work with this punk kid. She's got no track record. She hasn't written anything. Nah, never mind. Wow. But I was already there, so at that point they were like, well, let's just see what you come up with. And so I just kind of started writing. Wow. To the best of my ability. I mean, obviously I had, as I said, a great foundation of understanding music and theory. I had done deep div to my favorite artists, which at the time were Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush.

[Amy Poehler]

Don't give up.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, yeah, Just don't give up.

[Amy Poehler]

Sorry.

[Sarah McLachlan]

No, it's good, it's good.

[Amy Poehler]

I hear you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I feel you. So I just, you know, I. I just kind of fake it till you make it. I. I just made my first record in about a year and started touring and toured and toured and toured and then, you know, just kind of went from there.

[Amy Poehler]

That's the thing that I think sometimes we kind of like, you know, we're kind of tough on ourselves when we look back and look at our naivete about things and think like, oh, we didn't know what we were doing. But there's such a freedom when you're young about kind of not knowing what's around the corner. Sometimes it's better to not.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Ignorance is bliss.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes, sometimes that's true. If you knew how important your decisions were, that if you went left rather than right, it would change your whole life. You'd never take a step.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, you'd work in. You'd be living in fear. Constant fear. Constant uncertainty. So you're right, just that. That sort of, you know, dumb and gre.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, totally.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And just like the world is kind of your oyster and all these possibilities feel endless.

[Amy Poehler]

Do you remember your first time? You ever heard anything that you'd ever written on the radio?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Where were you? I was in a taxicab with my first publicist, Tony, on our way to Toronto to do our very first promotional tour for the record. And VOX came on the radio, and the two of us looked at each other and just started screaming.

[Amy Poehler]

And you did not know it was gonna be on.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Taxi Driver was like, what the hell's going on? And I said, that's me. That's me on the radio. And he's like, sure. And we got out and we pulled out the, you know, the albums that we were bringing with us to sign for the record or for the radio station. And he's like, can I have a picture with you? That's so cool. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Suddenly he wants a picture.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. But it was like. It just felt like validation.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, my God. How is it that this is already happening? It all felt so surreal up until that moment. And, I mean, honestly, there are still many, many surreal moments after that.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, you've had so many hits, like, throughout your career.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I mean, we were.

[Amy Poehler]

I was listening to your music all morning and your new record, which is great. And it's so hard to, like. I imagine that songs, you know, just like any piece of art, they just kind of have a life of their own. They take all these journeys, they bloom, they come back, they mean something different the next time around. Some of them, you think, oh, these are gonna be the ones that are gonna really go, and they don't. Or others that you think, like, this is the one that's, like, the one that everyone's always singing back to me. You have so many hits and so many songs. Like, do they. Does that. Do songs feel that way to you? Your songs that they have their own life and journey that, like, is out of your control.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Absolutely. I mean, music is. Art is so subjective, right? It's like you see something, you hear something, you read something, and it resonates with you or it doesn't. And you then, in part, you put your own story into it, and then that's where you draw inspiration from. That's how it affects you. So, I mean, the coolest thing is when people come up to me and say, oh, my God, you know, the song you created or the song you wrote has helped me in this way. I brought it with me on my trip. And, you know, like, I've met so many people who went through high school with my music or went through university. So, you Know, really pivotal times and huge changes in their worlds. Losing a parent, losing a child, like.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So all these stories about what it means to other people are beautiful and cool to know that there's something I've created has made some kind of impact in someone's life and been there with them on, you know, a beautiful journey, a tough journey, and somehow helped them in some way.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, you've been like a Cyrano for so many people because they. They've used your music to tell someone how they feel about them. You know, I mean, we came up in the era of, like, mixtapes and putting music together. It was such a big deal to, you know, hand someone over a bunch of music that you picked for them. And it was always, now, here's my playlist.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, exactly. It was this.

[Amy Poehler]

It was basically like, this is how I feel about you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

It was like. It was like, I can't tell you, but I'm gonna have you listen. And there was always, like, coded language and what we put together for people. And so many of your songs and your music did that for people. They allowed people to kind of, you know, feel through you, you know, and. Is there. Is there? I mean, you're. There's so many hits. Is there a song that, like, became bigger than, like, is it. That still kind of is, like, surprising to you, that it, like, it had the kind of journey it had?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, I suppose that would be Angel. Yeah. And that was one of those very. It very seldom happens as a songwriter that something happens quickly and easily. For me, it's like music is flowing all the time, but lyrics are really hard work. It's like extracting blood from a stone often for me, and I'm super add, so trying to, you know, it's like, give me any distraction when I'm trying to do something that is hard and challenging in the sense of, you know, trying to focus. But angel felt like I was just a vessel, and it just came through me in, like, two days and it was done. And I remember thinking at the end of. When I first put out Surfacing, like the rest. This album's crap, but Angels. Angel's solid. I mean, obviously, I had no perspective. I mean, now in Pine, so many hits again, you know, there was actually some good songs in there, but.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, a few.

[Sarah McLachlan]

A few. But that is, you know, that's that mindset when you've just worked and worked and worked at something and you don't have any perspective. But angel has had, you know, such a life of its own. Yeah. And has done, you know, so many things, as I said, talking about how it's helped people through, you know, individual tough situations. So many stories of my. I've played this. My mother played this when she was passing and really helped us, you know, the SPCA, obviously, you know.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, you raised $30 million.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, that was within the first year, I think. So who knows what's happened since.

[Amy Poehler]

Do people assume that you, like. Do people assume you've. You're constantly fostering and adopting animals? Oh, yeah, because you must get that projected on you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And also just, you know, like the, you know, 10 or 20 letters a week about, you know, people sending me, you know, all their rescues and. Or I'm doing this charity, I'm working with this. Can you help? And, yeah, you know, and it took on such a life of its own. I remember I was doing a food bank charity gig in New York eight years later, and they said, can you please not play Angel? Because it's so synonymous with this other charity. There's gonna be some brand confusion. I'm like, fuck that. Are you serious?

[Amy Poehler]

Is it true that I will remember your. Was a B side like that? That song was on a film?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, it was Brothers McMullen. It was Ed Burns directorial debut.

[Amy Poehler]

That's right. And it just. That's like one of the many monster hits.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

How many? How many? How many number one? Like, how many hits have you had?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, you're. You're asking the wrong people. I suppose I should know this, too.

[Amy Poehler]

Hold on.

[Sarah McLachlan]

We're going to look it up. You know what I want to do? I want to brag about any number one hits.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm so sick of it. You know, we're always like, oh, I don't even know. And we should know.

[Sarah McLachlan]

No, this is. This is embarrassing. I don't know either of it.

[Amy Poehler]

No, it's. It's totally normal. And actually, it's why you're such a.

[Tremphya Advertisement Voice]

You're.

[Amy Poehler]

You're a normal person who doesn't look at their hits. But I'm gonna look at your hits right now, okay? I'm gonna read them right now. Sarah, can you handle this? This is very American, not very Canadian. Well, I just wrote, Sarah McLachlan hits.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You consulting the Oracle.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. Building a mystery. Sweet surrender. Possession. Better. Broken Ice cream.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Angel.

[Sheryl Crow]

Vox.

[Amy Poehler]

We talked about vox. Heard it on the radio. Into the fire Elsewhere. Fallen fumbling toward ecstasy. Aidia. Possession. Sweet surrender Building. Everybody listening right now is having this moment of like, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh. Cause they're remembering I mean, monster hit. Sarah Hitmaker.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Thanks.

[Amy Poehler]

Sorry, I'm just gonna brag for you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Okay.

[Amy Poehler]

So then you leave Canada. You're in a band. Sorry, you're making music. Are you in a band at that point? No. You're just kind of making music under your. It's never Sarah McLachlan.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You mean when I got signed? Yeah, yeah. No, they. That. That was the other trick of that. When they came and offered me that deal, my band that I. We hadn't been together about a year because they had gone off to school, so we'd kind of split up, but still, they were all. They knew about it, and they were like, what'd you say? And I'm like, oh.

[Amy Poehler]

You're like. Well, I had this beautiful.

[Sarah McLachlan]

This sort of excited moment that I was like, I think they just want me. Yeah, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

That's always been.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So that was a bit of a tough. A tough moment, too. But now you're.

[Amy Poehler]

You start to tour, and when. How old are you? When you ask Paula Cole to open for you?

[Sarah McLachlan]

21, maybe 22. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And why did you ask Paula?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Because I loved her. Yeah. I loved her music. And how did you find out about music? I think just radio. Yeah. Yeah. I was, you know, listening and watching what, you know, what else was going on out there and discovered her. I was like, oh, my God, what an incredible voice. She's so powerful. And I love her lyrics and love the melodies, and I think, hmm, wonder if she'd want to come sing.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, what I love about the lilithair Doc, which is on Hulu, is that it talks about the kind of slow process of realizing there's a way to work. Like, there's a way to choose how to work. It's very relatable, I think, for a lot of women who, if they're lucky enough, get an opportunity to figure out, is there a way I like to work that I could figure out? Like, that's the dream. Yeah. And you ask Paula to join as an opening act, and you two realize this is fun. This is actually fun.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, well, it's a. Back then, I mean, I was. All. My crew were men, my band were men, had a female backup singer, but, you know, it was just us and the sea of men who I adored and loved. They were my crew, and they're a wonderful bunch of people. But I just, you know, having Paula, there was just this breath of fresh air for me and this awareness of, like, you know, we kind of need each other. This is a weird industry. It's isolating. We make music alone. And, you know, it's just really nice to have her around. Yeah, really. It was great to connect with her. Oh, my God. I saw her at Tiff. She showed up, I didn't even know she was coming. And we both burst into tears. I was like, oh, my God.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, that's so nice. I mean. I mean, it's wild to me, but there are people that don't really understand what Lilith Fair was. And for people who don't, they should watch this doc. Certainly. But in a nutshell, how do you describe it to people who have never heard of it or didn't get a chance to go see it?

[Sarah McLachlan]

It was a celebration of much of the great music that was being made by women in the late 90s. And it was. Yeah, it was basically that. And that was the simple origin story. And then we were told we couldn't do it because you shouldn't put more than two women on a stage together. You certainly can't play two women back to back on radio. And I had felt that, I had seen that and witnessed it time and time again. And I just never understood or liked the competitive nature of it. You know, I didn't think music should be put into those kind of pigeonholes. I didn't think we as artists should be. I certainly didn't notice it happening with men. And that pissed me off as well. So though it did, it didn't start out as a political statement. It be kind of, you know, it kind of came, became that. When I was told, you can't do that, I'm like, oh, oh, yeah, that doesn't work for me. It just put a fire under me to prove them wrong.

[Amy Poehler]

Because people were saying, there's just no way anyone's gonna pay this money to see all these women performing. Like, there's just. Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

How insulting. We proved our point in 1996 and then went, oh my gosh, this was so amazing and so fun. Let's do a full tour next summer. And that was the point at which just like, oh, yeah, no, you can't do that.

[Amy Poehler]

So funny.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Really?

[Amy Poehler]

Really. And it was still, you just can't do it because we won't sell tickets.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Promoters would not take any risk. They were like, you can't do that. You can't say, well, we just did. And we just sold out 15,000 people. And they were like, well, that's a one off. That's an anomaly.

[Amy Poehler]

They're like, this isn't going to last.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's not going to last. It was, you know, Ooh, that was just a little blip, a little fad or a little trend. And I'm like, no, no, no, we can do this. And again, that. Back to that naivety of just.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You know, going. What are you talking about? No, we're going to do this.

[Amy Poehler]

Right.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And, you know, we took. For the most. There's, like, no guarantees that we took all the risk.

[Amy Poehler]

By taking the risk, did you make more money because you took the risk? Yes.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You know what I mean?

[Amy Poehler]

Like, that's good. I mean, it's like you had some control.

[Sarah McLachlan]

We had some control. We had a ton of control. Yeah. And we got. You know, we raised over $7 million for local and national charities over the three years as well, which is.

[Amy Poehler]

You know, again, I can't stress enough to watch the doc. But on top of everything else you were doing, I think what was so incredible about Lilith Fair is it really did feel like a fair. It was. There were people walking around. There were booths everywhere. There was fundraising constantly. There was backstage, everyone was hanging out. All the women were bringing their kids on tour. It was like a utopian version of what it would look like if women were in charge of most of the systems of how to work. And it looked and still looks like this ideal way in which to be part of a community and still feel like you're an individual with. You know, you had a lot of artists who were very, very different on that tour.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And yet they still all wanted to hang out with each other. They took care of each other. You know, you gave health insurance to crew who often never had it on tour.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, they never had it before. That's kind of unheard of in the industry. Yeah. I mean, listen, it was just an extension of the way I live my life. And again, looking at what it is as how it is as an artist, as a band member, a crew member coming into someone else's environment. Like, how would I want to be treated? How would I want to be made to feel? I want to feel respected and taken care of. And that was just the mo. It's like, we're gonna take care of everybody. We're gonna make sure everybody feels good, respected. This is a safe space. This is fun. You're all gonna get fed really well. I mean, I'll never forget, you know, crew came in, first day of new artists, and they're always super grumpy. I mean, you know, I've had that experience going into a festival, you know, where it's like, are we even gonna get a sound check? Are we gonna get fed. It's gonna be a long day. By the end of the day, everybody's happy, everybody's smiling. They're like, okay, this is gonna be great. And that is the environment that I wanted to create for everybody there. It's like, this is an extension of me, of my hospitality, of my ethos.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes. You know, this is how you want.

[Sarah McLachlan]

To work, be respectful, treat everybody the way you want to be treated yourself. Just, you know, like, live and let live. Let people be and let's just. I know. Sounds very woo woo and utopian. I still like that though. I mean, I just.

[Amy Poehler]

It's like, I mean, why does it.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Why can't we all just get along?

[Amy Poehler]

Why does it.

[Sheryl Crow]

Why do we have to.

[Amy Poehler]

And also why do we have to say these kind of things and then apologize for, like, how earnest and like. Because, like, it's hopeful.

[Sarah McLachlan]

We need to stay hopeful. It's hopeful.

[Amy Poehler]

It's like, you know, that was the thing about the DOC is that what I felt was, you know, you didn't. No one can get anything exactly right. Right. So what was really wonderful about what I felt like you were doing was constantly pivoting, taking feedback and adjusting. Like, there was a lot of adjustments you made. You. What were some of the things that you, you know, when you. That fair in its second or third year, you realized, oh, we have to adjust here.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. I mean, the big adjustment was very early on, which was like, you know, white Chick folk fest. And I mean, I knew that was coming and I agreed with that. And I was frustrated by it because we asked everybody, we asked all these different artists from all different genres of music. But, you know, to be fair, their management teams would look at the lineup so far and go, I'm not sure where the place is for my artists in this. And you know, in my head, my naive head, I'm like, I listen to all different kinds of music. I know that most of my friends who are fans of music, they don't listen to just one genre. It just depends on their mood. So why are we being so, you know, minimizing of the, you know, and sort of looking at our fans and going, oh, they can't handle this. Of course they can handle it. They want it, they're hungry for it. And so to create that opportunity that, you know, for all of us to showcase our unique talents again, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Sarah McLachlan]

But it was a struggle to get a lot of black and brown artists, for sure. Like, I don't know where my place is. Sure.

[Amy Poehler]

And they want to see how it does and they want to see.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So the success of the first year then allowed us way more latitude and way more freedom to go, hey, you know, go back and push and say, look, this is a really great opportunity for your artists to expand their fan base. And you know, we, in the second year, we also, we realized there was an opportunity again to how do you expand your fingerprint in a community after you leave not only giving a dollar every ticket sale to a local women's shelter, but having a stage for local artists in every market, you know, so just creating those opportunities, tons of tabling of various local organizations, you know, women's organizations, local and national. Like just raising awareness, creating the space where there's open dialogue about all these things.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Ollie. Everyone could use a little more shuteye in 2026, right? Ollie can help. Their sleep gummies are made with a blend of melatonin, L theanine and botanicals. Basically the support you need to fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling like a human again. So if your 2026 goal is to get some legit sleep instead of just scrolling on your phone at 2o l l y.com and get the sleep support you deserve, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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[Amy Poehler]

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[Sarah McLachlan]

Festival, I mean, pretty diverse and dynamic.

[Amy Poehler]

So good. Can we talk about them just for a second? Like, okay, so we've got Paula. We've got Sean. Incredible. We've got Sheryl Crow.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Erykah Badu, Michel Andiglio. Cello Queen Latifah.

[Amy Poehler]

Missy Elliot.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Missy Elliott.

[Amy Poehler]

First time ever on tour.

[Sheryl Crow]

I know.

[Sarah McLachlan]

That was a coup.

[Amy Poehler]

How did you get Missy?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, you'd have to ask Marty that. I mean, he was there. Yeah, that was above my pay grade, but somehow he got Missy. And that was awesome.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, that footage of her coming out on stage, like in the Giant, when she was. When she wore that big. When she threw the big garbage bag stuff with, like, all the inflatable stuff in that style. So she's incredible and incredible.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And you saw the entire audience instantly stood up. It's like, oh, okay. Wow. What is this? This is so much fun.

[Amy Poehler]

What about you had the Indigo Girls join?

[Sarah McLachlan]

The Indigo Girls were such a amazing anchor for me. They came on early on and kind of got everybody, you know, feeling comfortable about singing together. Like, I was still a good Canadian. Like, I was. I was afraid to ask. I really wanted to sing with everybody, but I didn't quite know how to do it. And it's funny, watching the doc, how Jewel was so, you know, said it exactly the same way. It's like, I didn't know I was allowed to do that. They're like, oh, no. Why isn't everybody singing together? I'm like, oh, we can do that. And she's like, yeah, let's just go do it. And so they just opened up this huge opportunity for all of us to really feel a whole different kind of connection. And that's when things really took off.

[Amy Poehler]

And I also love what they say in the doc. The Indigo Girls are basically like, you need some, like, openly gay girls here to teach you how to party. You had Pat Benatar.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yes. Emmy Lou Harris.

[Amy Poehler]

Emmy Lou Harris.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Bonnie Raitt, Sinead o'.

[Amy Poehler]

Connor.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. I mean, that was the part in the documentary. I mean, I've seen so many iterations of this over the edits, but I cry every time.

[Amy Poehler]

Tell me why.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, because she's gone. And she was such a gift.

[Amy Poehler]

What was she like?

[Sarah McLachlan]

She was really shy at the beginning, but, wow, did she open up. She was a little shit as well. Like, she was super playful, like a jokester, prankster. We had so much fun together. And then to get to sing with her, you know, it's like being in the presence of, you know, a goddess. Basically, when she opens up her mouth and starts to sing, it's just. It's otherworldly. Yeah. And I got to be part of that. And I got to sing with her a number of nights, and, yeah, that was pretty magical. And then just getting to watch that. All these moments that were so powerful and important to me and watching myself grow up on screen. Not a lot of humans get to have a gift like that given to them where it's like, this is such a powerful and important time in my life that has been so succinctly and beautifully captured. So, yeah, watching that, it's just she. She's gone now, and it's so sad.

[Amy Poehler]

So sad. Such an incredible talent.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. And she was. You know, she suffered even back then. Like, she just. She was really misunderstood and. Yeah. You know. Yeah. It's tough.

[Amy Poehler]

Tracy Chapman, another beautiful artist who I love. In the documentary, you talk about how she was the one. Everyone. One of many people that everyone came out and watched.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Every night. I mean, she was just. Just talk about grace. Yeah. Just this quiet, graceful presence. She was very shy, too. Yeah. It was kind of hard to draw her.

[Amy Poehler]

It's always so funny that people who are performing, you know, it's things we learn over and over again, obviously. But we're reminded that people who are performers are not necessarily extroverts.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Such an introvert. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Who's the most introverted? Who's the most introverted on that tour, and who is the most extroverted?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Tracy is probably the most introverted and extroverted. Maybe Cheryl. I mean, me, I was, you know, I was pretty extroverted, actually. Okay. I mean, Amy and Emily, for sure.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Because they were just loud, you know, they were loud and proud, and let's have fun. So they brought that really, like, they said this really sort of geeky fan, fan energy.

[Amy Poehler]

And you had, like, you talked about Emmy Lou Heron, Bonnie Rae, Chrissy Hind, and. And I don't know if you feel this way, but I know I do, because in, you know, I've had. I grew up in a generation where I Feel like women my age right now are working together all the time and feeling really good about that and loving that experience. And when you meet someone who's maybe 10 years older than you, they just haven't had that experience very much. I've been on many sets where women in their mid-60s have said, oh, I've never been on a set with this many women.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, yeah, I mean, they grew up at a time where in whatever industry we were in, we were being offered a tiny sliver of the pie. And we were in competition with each other in every element, like it or not. And think about what they came up against as they were coming up in the world that was even, I would argue, more toxic and more marginalizing towards women. And, you know, you just kind of had to deal with. Those were the social norms then. Yeah. You know, you walk into a radio station and get your ass grabbed.

[Amy Poehler]

Fucking hell.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Or just knowing that that may happen. Or just the comments, you know, like. And it.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. You know, I mean, I think fresh it out.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Well, because it was normalized.

[Amy Poehler]

Totally.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And you just. You suck it up and you keep going because, well, if you make a stink about it, then you're pushed out even further into the margins. Yeah. And you're hanging out in a room full of boys.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And if you want to be in that room, you kind of need to toe the line. It was the same thing. I was, you know, thinking about that. Like, Ann Powers is in the documentary Love Anne Powers. Yeah. You know, I didn't like Ann Powers back then because she ripped the shit out of us. And I'm like, are you kidding me?

[Amy Poehler]

And she kind of claims it. Right. She's like, I didn't get it. She's like, I saw it.

[Sarah McLachlan]

She couldn't have, though, because she was in a room full of guys and she was a single woman female critic. Like, I forgive her because I understand now. I didn't at the time. I'm like, how could you be doing this? But the room that she was in was her male counterparts. And if she, you know, spoke appreciatively or in reverence to what we were doing, she would have been ostracized.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, we all suffered. We all suffered in our twenties, in the nineties, with deep internalized misogyny that we didn't even know we had in an attempt to assimilate. We were like, I wanna be in the room. I wanna figure out, work the system. And I'm gonna. Without even knowing, I'm gonna buy into a system that I don't believe in. And that's actually hurting me. And what I love about Anne Powers, who's a journalist in the film, who kind of owns up to the fact that she wrote about, you know, wrote about how she didn't. Wasn't getting Lilith Fair and it wasn't for her. She realizes like much later on that she was grappling with her own, like, sense of trying to fit in.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, I mean.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, Lilfair got teased like it ridiculed. Did you care about that at the time? How did you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

How did it feel?

[Sarah McLachlan]

It was hurtful. It was annoying. But I just kept going back to the fact that. Well, you obviously haven't come.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And seen it and felt it because if you had, you'd think differently. So I just. Cause like. Well, you can have your opinion, but I'm having the time of my life.

[Amy Poehler]

No kidding. And I don't wanna.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You're missing out.

[Sheryl Crow]

Sorry.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, it's. Yes, that's right. And I loved how you guys did press conferences in every city that you went to.

[Sarah McLachlan]

They were so painful.

[Amy Poehler]

Did you ever think about not doing them?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No, because there were two elements to that. There was one to, you know, the press wanted access. We understood that that was part of the beast that you have to feed. And the beautiful thing is at the end of the press conference, we got to give attention to a local women's shelter, you know, to sort of raise awareness for the issues that they were dealing with and to show that we were. And not to be self congratulatory, but to show that we were giving money to this and to raise awareness for it. And I tell you that it felt so good to have that cherry at the end of this, you know, typically annoying and demeaning and dumb press conference where I just got besieged every day with, you know, why? Why do you hate men? Why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing that? You're too much of this. You're not enough of that. Very typical. Don't be too pretty. Don't be too loud. Oh, you're too quiet. Like you can't win. And that was that thing that I hadn't experienced until I was, you know, in this quiet radical movement that we were doing of just, you know, just basically being ourselves and celebrating each other and celebrating the success that we were all having and appreciating that and lifting each other up again. Like, why is that so radical? Why is that so threatening? It was kind of shocking. Yeah. So, yeah, the press conferences were Painful. But they were also an important thing to do.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, you handled those conferences, from what I saw. Really, really well.

[Sarah McLachlan]

For the most part. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

You really did. Was it hard sometimes to be running the festival while you were in it because everybody else kind of gets to come in and like, have a good time?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I wasn't running it. Dan Fraser was running it. I mean, he had a hell of.

[Amy Poehler]

A joke kind of that, you know, you're the, you know, to your point.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You'Re the face of it for sure.

[Amy Poehler]

And you have to worry about stuff like, you know, it's like having the house party, right?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. There were a ton of day to day decisions that had to be made. There were a ton of fires that had to be put out. Someone didn't show up. Someone. Someone slept with someone else or, you know, there was just one. And then. And then they were like someone was angry and hurt or someone said something that hurt someone's feelings. And you had to deal with like, hr.

[Amy Poehler]

Was there an hr?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Great. Me?

[Amy Poehler]

You were hr. Me and Dan.

[Sarah McLachlan]

There was no freaking hr. We were all just like, okay, totally.

[Amy Poehler]

You just.

[Sarah McLachlan]

How do we manage this?

[Amy Poehler]

You put on a blazer and you were like, okay, let's talk.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You know, it's like it was kind of Julie the cruise director, right. You know, totally saying hi to everybody, making sure everybody felt good, writing letters to every new artist. And it was like a hundred and some artists in one year, you know, so it was just this constant flow of meeting new people and making sure everybody was great and then. Yeah, putting out the fires of the day or just being involved in all these little decisions that, you know, we kind of had to make on a daily basis. So, yeah, it was exhausting and all encompassing. But, you know, again, the gift at the end was like, I got to watch all these artists. I got to perform with all these artists.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. So we do this thing on the POD where we ask people who know our guests to speak well behind their back and to give me a question to ask them. So we talked to Sheryl Crow this morning.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, my gosh.

[Amy Poehler]

I know. And it was so fun and so fun to talk to her about those times and you guys performing together. And, you know, I was saying to her, you know, it was just. It's so. It was just. It will never get old watching you all be each other's fans, you know, like, you're an artist and you're also a fan. And she's such an incredible talent. And she wanted me to ask you two questions, which I Thought were really interesting questions to ask. They're kind of opposite, but also feel like they're in the same world. One is, if you were not making music, did you ever think of what.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Else you would do, ever so briefly? Because I don't know what else I would do. Either a hairdresser or a jewelry designer.

[Amy Poehler]

Ooh.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Which, honestly, I still kind of do.

[Amy Poehler]

You do design jewelry?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, just really simple stuff. Like, I made last two Christmases ago, I made, like, 30 necklaces for all my friends, and I'm crafty. You're a crafter. You know, I need something to do with my hands or they're in my mouth.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's not healthy.

[Amy Poehler]

I love that. Okay.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And. And.

[Amy Poehler]

And that makes sense. Hairdresser, too, because you like touching people's hair. Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I was a dance mom for years, so I got to do all these, you know.

[Amy Poehler]

For your daughters?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Are you good at a blow? Do a good blowout?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I'm. I do a pretty good blowout. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. But I like.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I like the French braids and the.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, you can do the intricate stuff.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Well done.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. And then. So that was one question, and then the other question was, did you have a sense. Did you know, deep down, you know, people ask this question from a lot of artists, but was there some part of you that knew that you were gonna make it, that you were gonna be famous? Was Cheryl's question. But, like, was there a part of you that sensed that or knew that?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No. No. I can honestly say no. And mostly because I didn't even know what that meant. Yeah. I did not know what that looked like. I did not come from a culture of celebrity, of looking at famous people and. And, you know, hoping to achieve that.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

My thing was I want to do something that makes me feel good.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It was so naive and so simple, but it's pure and pure. Yeah. Yeah. And I just. You know, again, this sort of blissful time in the world where we could kind of just figure it out. Figure out as we go.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And we were. There were so many more opportunities to just, you know, to fumble around and try and figure it out. Like, I just feel like even both my daughters, there was just so much pressure to decide, you know, what university to go to, and you kind of have to make a decision about the whole trajectory of your life. And I'm like, oh, my God. Half my friends in my 50s still don't have a clue what they're doing. You know, I just got really, really lucky that I had this, you know, this path that I kind of got offered. I got offered the golden ticket at 19. And it's like, well, this will be fun. I'll go do this. And my dad said, listen, if this doesn't work out, our college is still. It's always going to be there, but this will not. You got to try it. Of course I wanted to, but. Yeah, I didn't. It's funny, in my yearbook, someone wrote, destined to become a famous rock star. Which is hilarious. And I'm just like, ha, ha ha. Yeah. But we didn't know what that even looked like. I know, I know.

[Amy Poehler]

That's very.

[Sheryl Crow]

Woo woo.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I know.

[Amy Poehler]

Destined to become a famous rock star.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Somebody knew.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

So I guess it's combo based on.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You know, other people can see things that you can't see too often. Right? Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And you talk about your daughters, too, and I love the beautiful aspect that your daughter sings on this record with you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, that was a great full circle moment for me.

[Amy Poehler]

Why?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, because, you know, they're. They both have beautiful voices. They won't sing around me. And I guess because, you know, I sing and that's often the case with kids, they kind of try and go the opposite. But we cannot deny they both have beautiful voices. But the song in particular, one in a long line, it's the last song I wrote. And I think it was this, you know, looking at what's going on in the world and the erosion of women's rights, not only here, but all over the world and thinking about what do I need to say? I feel like now is not the time to be silent or complacent. Like I've always been, you know, tread that line carefully and not been political. But I'm like, I have to say something about this. I'm just. I'm so frustrated and angry and scared. And I have two daughters and they're. They're going into the world and, you know, we. We need to speak loudly about the things that we believe in, even. Even though I was afraid to, so. And I've always used music as my vehicle for expression.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So that song, to have both my daughters sing on that with me just felt really powerful. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

That's so cool. And what was it like being in the studio with each other? The Stude.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, we actually weren't. It was in my daughter's phone in my daughter's bedroom, on my iPhone, because.

[Amy Poehler]

Perfect.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. It was kind of at the. I wrote that song right at the end of the record. And, you know, Will was actually mixing the rest of the record and trying to. Trying to organize my kids. You know, there was a bit of convincing to get him to do it in the first place. And I was like, I'll do it next week, Mom. And I'm like, okay, we're mixing the record. Will needs these tracks now. So we just actually sat in the bedroom with my eldest and she sang it. She just put headphones on and iPhones are amazing for that now. And then Tasha, my little one, went down into the studio. She wouldn't let me near her when she did it.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, I was wondering if they would let you watch.

[Sarah McLachlan]

But my 23 year old, you know, just earnest, full voice, sang right in front of me. So uninhibited. It was so beautiful. And again, this is deeply more powerful because of the challenges and the struggles that we've been through for so many years as mother and firstborn daughter. Yeah, because it was tough.

[Amy Poehler]

What have you been learning about being the mother of daughters? Like, but what was tough about it?

[Sarah McLachlan]

You know, I mean, there's so many things I could say about that. And I wish I knew what I know now. To be able to go back, you know, without feeling yourself knowing what you know now. I would have been softer on her in a different way. I was a hard ass. And it's funny because I thought so clearly in my own mind that I was being the antithesis of my mother. And I looked at the way she parented and I thought, I'm gonna do everything completely different. And then her words come spewing out of your mouth in a moment of anger and frustration. You're like, oh, my God, I can't believe I did that. But I just, you know, she was undiagnosed. We thought she had adhd. And, you know, when things got hard, this wall would go up and she'd just rage and be so frustrated. And so, you know, I looked at that and going, how do I help you with this? How do we move past this? Because the world out there is scary and big and you have to have some grit and you have to do hard things so that you know you can. So I was tough. And what we didn't realize is that was. It was actually anxiety. And all this came out. We did family systems counseling and peeling back all those layers of the onion. The way I was communicating to her, like, was just making her feel shitty about herself instead of building her up, which was completely the opposite of what I thought I was doing. So, you know, I had to eat a Lot of humble pie and take stock and go, okay, look, I want a relationship with my kid, so I need to learn how to communicate differently with her. And in doing so, she also got to take some responsibility for the way she was reacting and recognizing that that's not where I was coming from anyway. So it was a long process, but it was beautiful and powerful, and we have such an open, loving relationship now because of that.

[Amy Poehler]

It's so great, Sarah, that you talk about this. I just have to say, because it's. The way that women help each other constantly is to just, like, break free from the narrative that we are getting everything right as mothers. Like, it's a joke. It's such a joke, but it's really hard.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's kind of the last constant judgment, you know, it's like, you know, you watch people look at you out of the corner of the eye when you let your kid cry on the grocery. Grocery store floor.

[Amy Poehler]

That's right.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's like, oh, my God, corral that kid. You're a bad parent because you're doing this or you're doing that or not doing this. It's like, again, just constant judgment.

[Amy Poehler]

Constant judgment and pressure. And the most coming from within on ourselves, for sure. And anytime we share any version of that out loud or just even in our friend group, like, you just feel this feeling that everyone wants to say, like, that's an exhale, you know, too. I'm feeling that too. What? You know, like, it's. It's wild how we still do this to ourselves over and over. I mean, we get it done to us, of course, too, but we do it to ourself. There's an alarm. There's a siren right there coming to pick us up because we're such bad moms.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I mean, it's like the same thing with menopause, you know, like, just there was no conversation about it and just, you know, all the changes that we go through. And thank goodness, like, I kind of love social media for that now because there are so many platforms that women are now talking about this and all. And doctors are finally paying attention to the hundreds of thousands of women who suffered and who went through all sorts of shit. And the doctors just like, eh, you know, it's just a thing. Just suck it up.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. It's like, is my frozen shoulder because of menopause? And doctors are like, we'll never know.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And I'm like, you know what?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No one's gonna put any money towards research on that, you know?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. They're like, huh.

[Tremphya Advertisement Voice]

Maybe.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh. If men could bleed, you know, things would be very, very different.

[Amy Poehler]

That would be a good heavy metal band name. If Men Could Bleed. A dou. If Men could bleed. And Skinny puppies.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Perfect.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, I got a few rapid fire for you.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Okay.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, first of all, how do you. What's your sleep routine? I love to ask people this. Do you love to sleep?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I love to sleep.

[Amy Poehler]

Are you good at sleeping?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I'm really. Yes, I'm good at sleeping now that I'm on estrogen and progesterone.

[Amy Poehler]

Totally.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Because it went to shit. Yeah. When I went into menopause. Yeah. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And do you take any sleep? Do you take anything to go to sleep?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No.

[Amy Poehler]

And what's your ritual to go to sleep?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Well, you know what? Red light therapy has been my friend.

[Amy Poehler]

Hold on, talk to me about it.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I have.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't know about this.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I have a massage table and I basically have this like 6 foot long panel of red light. Especially because, you know, when I'm skate skiing three hours a day, as I was doing a lot like your body needs. Your muscles need to.

[Amy Poehler]

Same for the far. Skate skiing.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, you know, like, it's like cross country. So there's classic, which is in the grooves and skate is on the corduroy and it's like, you know, biathlon. Four words.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't know. Grooves and corduroys. Are you on ice skates?

[Sarah McLachlan]

No, no, it's classic. It's like cross country skiing. It's on these little matchsticks.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay.

[Sarah McLachlan]

And you just, you kind of. They're long, like cross country skates, but instead of being in the two, you.

[Amy Poehler]

Just said skates again. So you're on skates or skis.

[Sarah McLachlan]

They're skate skis. So what they are is a very narrow, long ski.

[Amy Poehler]

We don't have those here.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You do.

[Amy Poehler]

We do not.

[Sarah McLachlan]

You do. I have been to Colorado. I don't know how many years in a row skate skiing.

[Amy Poehler]

So you do okay.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It's a big thing. That's incredible. So it's so fun. I just, I love, I love being outdoors. I love nature. I would be outside all the time if I could. It just gets a little too cold. But, you know, to be able to be for four hours outside in the snow, in the mountains. Yes. Like finding frozen lakes and going out on like, it's magical. And the coolest part about where I live is I can take my dogs.

[Amy Poehler]

That's awesome.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah. So doing a lot of that anyway. Yeah. So exhaust myself if I can.

[Amy Poehler]

That's right.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Climbing Hills or jumping in lakes, whatever, so. And then, so usually I spend like 15 minutes before I go to bed just lying under this light. Cause it just calms and it's just a red light. It's red light. Yeah. Red light therapy.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Infrared, you heal faster. I'm serious.

[Amy Poehler]

You get one of these red lights.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, so I do that. Not every night, but most nights, you know, I don't really have much of a ritual. I try to stop drinking water around 5 o' clock so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night and pee.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh yeah.

[Sarah McLachlan]

So I front load as best of my abilities but you know, I usually go to bed around nine.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, that's what I'm talking about.

[Sarah McLachlan]

That's kind of it.

[Amy Poehler]

There's 10pm that is a winners. That's a winner's.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I mean honestly 10 is probably a little more realistic. But I try to go to bed at 9, especially in the winter and.

[Amy Poehler]

You know, watch a show, read a book. That happens after 10.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Not much. Especially when you have to get up at six, shut it down, go to.

[Amy Poehler]

Bed at nine, wake up at six.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Feel like a hero, give me eight hours of solid sleep. I am so much less than a sleep.

[Amy Poehler]

My dream is to eat dinner at 6:30 and then walk right into the bedroom.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Early bird special.

[Amy Poehler]

I try and eat around 555-05-30 and then just start to shut her down. And shut her down. Okay, rapid fire, here we go. Who do you predict is going to be your Spotify wrapped this year? Like who are the musicians you're listening to the most on your. Like if we were Phoebe Bridgers. Ah yeah, the best.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, or Boy Genius or you know.

[Amy Poehler]

Competition would definitely be, would be on like a current version of Lilith Fair if there existed one. In some way, Boy genius is the parent of all you got.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Three amazing musicians, singer songwriters, independently unique and beautiful all choosing to come together to be a powerhouse trio.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes. Best Canadian city.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh, I'm gonna get in trouble. Vancouver.

[Amy Poehler]

What's the best thing about being Canadian and not American?

[Sarah McLachlan]

That is so baiting.

[Amy Poehler]

Sorry. Don't worry about this. Forget it, forget it, forget it.

[Sarah McLachlan]

It. Health care.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, health care. Surfing or paddle boarding?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Surfing.

[Amy Poehler]

So you surf?

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah, I was surfing since I was 30.

[Amy Poehler]

And then you were on SNL and Rudy Giuliani was the host.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Oh my God, I remember that. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

So it was Sarah McLaughlin and Rudy Giuliani in, in 19, back again in 1997.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

What do you remember about your experience? Was that the only time you were on snl.

[Sarah McLachlan]

I feel maybe like I was on twice, but I'm not sure. Honestly, what I remember is Anna Gangster and, like, you know, basted in Blood doing that. That was. I don't know if that was really.

[Amy Poehler]

Were you on the show and Anna did the Lilith.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Not the lilith one, no. But Basted in Blood, which was the Thanksgiving song. I got to participate in that.

[Amy Poehler]

Wait, you were in that?

[Sarah McLachlan]

I was in it, yeah. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, this is really interesting. Anna used to play a character on SNL called Cinder Calhoun, who was a very earnest, you know, kind of like singer songwriter, progressive singer songwriter, and she sang a song called Bas it in Blood. Let's watch it. Anna's such a good singer.

[Sarah McLachlan]

20 million noble birds.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, my God, this is so good. I remember this. Oh, my God, this is so good. Well, I'm so grateful that you came here. You are always ahead of your time, and I can't wait to see what you do next. And congrats on all the good things that are happening now, and it means a lot that you came by, so thank you so much.

[Sarah McLachlan]

Happy to be here.

[Amy Poehler]

Wow. Thank you so much. Sarah McLachlan. You are so cool and interesting and. And so fun to talk to, and it really took me down memory lane there. And, you know, for this polar plunge, I just wanted to remind everybody how badass Pat Benatar is. That's all. Just how amazing her voice is and how great of an artist she is. And, like, Sarah has just always been this, you know, woman kind of making music on her own terms, and she was, I think probably Pat Benatar and New Edition were my. The first two concerts I saw when I was in middle school, and I saw Pat Benatar at the Orpheum in Boston in. I don't know, I think maybe I was a freshman in high school and her husband, Neil Giraldo, lead guitarist, still together. So, anyway, anyway, that's all. Just using this time to say, pat, if you're listening, I love you, please come on the show and everybody else listening. Here's to all the great music we had growing up and all the great music we have now and all the great music yet to come. Music will save us. Okay, bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by the Ringer and Paper Kite for the Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat Spillane, Kaia McMullen, and Alaia Zaneras for Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

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