Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and the winner of Grammy Awards. She has been familiar with the music since her very childhood: Sarah took voice lessons and studied classical piano and guitar. In High School she sang in a rock band called The October Game, which had not existed for long, though. Young singer’s talent and love for music predetermined her future lifestyle. McLachlan entered the Dalhousie University, where she performed with The October Game, and she was noticed and offered the contract with Nettwerk. Sarah's parents insisted that she should finish high school before starting the musical career. Thus the singer signed the contract only after two years.

The singer’s debut album Touch was released in 1988. That record was acclaimed by the musical experts, partially due to the composition Vox which later became a real hit. During this stage of her creativity, Sarah took part in the creation of Moev album and later went on her very first tour as an opening act for The Grapes of Wrath. The second album Solace was issued in 1991 and it included such hits as The Path of Thorns (Terms) and Into the Fire. That was the first album, produced by Pierre Marchand, with whom Sarah had been working since that time. Later Solace was certified double platinum and it brought a real success to Sarah. That album was followed by the studio work titled Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993). It became an immediate hit in Canada and the composition Possession was included into the TV series Due South soundtrack in 1996.

McLachlan’s fourth studio work Surfacing was released in 1997 and it became her most successful and bestselling album to date. More than 11 million copies were sold all over the world and Sarah got two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards for Surfacing. Being in the spotlight from that record, Sarah started the Lilith Fair tour.

One of the first shows under the name Lilith Fair took place in Sarah’s home town in 1996. McLachlan, Paula Cole and other musicians performed there, and the Lilith Fair was gaining the popularity. It turned into the real festival, featuring only the female musicians. The idea of such concerts came to Sarah in 1996, when she was frustrated with the fact that promoters and radio stations never featured female musicians in a row. The same year McLachlan issued the compilation album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff (1996), presenting the compositions recorded in the period between 1988 and 1995, including the songs recorded for film soundtracks, remixes and songs, created with other singers and musicians. Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2 was released in 2008, 12 years after its predecessor. In 1999 Sarah recorded Randy Newman’s song When She Loved Me for the cartoon Toy Story 2. Later that composition was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 2000.

Sarah McLachlan’s new album Laws of Illusion was released in 2010, four years after her previous studio work Wintersong (2006). Traditionally the album is very strong, presenting the original unique sound and Sarah’s sincere voice.