‘I’m an incredibly proud Canadian’: Sarah McLachlan opens up about her new album and tour

For Sarah McLachlan, playing live is a dialogue with the audience. “We have this amazing energy that just goes back and forth, and it’s such a powerful feeling to know something I’m creating is giving other people joy,” she says.

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Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan isn’t surprised so many musical artists hailing from Canada found success worldwide.

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Growing up in Halifax, the three-time Grammy winner was drawn to a life in the arts because she spent so much time indoors.

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“We’re a great, vast country,” McLachlan, 57, told Postmedia in a video interview to promote her newly released 10th studio album, Better Broken. “It’s dark and cold a lot of the year and what else are you going to do other than make art? It never surprised me that there were a lot of great artists coming out of Canada.”

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After a long layaway from the studio, the mother of two found herself making music again last year with producers Tony Berg and Will Maclellan.

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“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or say,” McLachlan said of her reluctance to record new music. But surrounding herself with new collaborators lit a spark for her creatively.

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“Working with those guys brought me to a place where I could say to myself, ‘I want to do this again,’” she said.

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Some of the LP’s 11 tracks date back more than a decade; others are newer musical ideas that she came up with last year in the studio.

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“I wanted to create a body of work that went on a record that was an A-side and B-side, old-school. Not just a couple of singles and a bunch of filler,” she said. “I think there’s a really beautiful and emotional arc to this record, and a lot of real personal stories that have gone into this to allow me to show up where I am today.”

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Now, she’ll hit the road to play songs from the album and commemorate Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, the 1993 release that launched her to stardom more than 30 years ago. Beginning in Victoria, B.C., the 12-time Juno winner will stop in 16 cities across Canada this month and next. She’ll perform in a mix of arenas and intimate venues she hasn’t played in many years, including Toronto’s Massey Hall on Nov. 8.

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“For me, music is super cathartic,” she said.

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Speaking from her home in Vancouver, McLachlan discussed the tour, her Lilith Fair music festival, her love for Canada and, of course, that ad for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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Q You’ve toured regularly over the years, and you seem to really enjoy yourself on the stage. What do you get out of performing live?

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A It’s kind of the whole reason … It’s connection. For me … it’s bigger than myself … I’m onstage sharing this thing that I absolutely love with an audience that I hope loves it. We have this amazing energy that just goes back and forth, and it’s such a powerful feeling to know something I’m creating is giving other people joy. It’s the best drug in the world, really.