Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Sarah McLachlan

February 17, 2026

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  • The Lilith Fair, initiated by Sarah McLachlan, served as a defiant and successful community-building event that proved industry norms about all-female bills being commercially unviable were incorrect. 
  • Sarah McLachlan's early success was marked by an almost effortless creation of the hit song "Angel," contrasting with her usual difficult songwriting process, and she received a five-record deal at age 19 despite lacking a track record. 
  • Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan reflected on the internalized misogyny of the 1990s music industry, where female artists often competed for limited opportunities, a dynamic that Lilith Fair actively worked to dismantle. 
  • Open communication and family systems counseling were crucial for Sarah McLachlan to repair and deepen her relationship with her child by addressing underlying anxiety and changing her own communication patterns. 
  • Women, particularly mothers, face constant, often self-imposed, judgment regarding parenting, and sharing these struggles openly provides necessary mutual relief and validation. 
  • The conversation highlighted the historical lack of attention paid to women's health issues like menopause by the medical community, contrasting it with the current positive impact of social media in driving awareness and research. 

Segments

Sheryl Crow’s Life Update
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(00:03:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Sheryl Crow recently moved from Austin to Nashville following a period involving a breast cancer diagnosis, an engagement split, and LASIK surgery.
  • Summary: Sheryl Crow shared that she moved from Austin to Nashville during a tumultuous period. This transition occurred shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and ended an engagement. She also underwent LASIK surgery within the same three-week span.
Lilith Fair’s Defiant Origins
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(00:04:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Lilith Fair was created in defiance of industry advice that stated promoters would not sell tickets to see multiple women on one bill.
  • Summary: The Lilith Fair was conceived as a direct response to industry pushback, specifically the notion that audiences, particularly male audiences, would not buy tickets to see two women perform consecutively. The tour fostered a sense of community and served as a ‘gentle fuck you to the norms’ of the industry at the time. It successfully defied promoters’ expectations by drawing diverse audiences, including families and heterosexual couples.
Questions for Sarah McLachlan
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(00:06:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Sheryl Crow posed two key questions for Sarah McLachlan: what she would do if not making music, and whether she always knew she was destined for success.
  • Summary: Sheryl Crow suggested two questions for Sarah McLachlan: one concerning an alternative career path, given McLachlan’s involvement with music education. The second question asked if McLachlan possessed an innate certainty that she would achieve her current level of success. Crow admitted she personally did not feel certain of her success until about eight years into her career.
Canadian Upbringing and Politeness
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(00:10:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Canadians generally maintain a polite nature, which Sarah McLachlan attributes partly to the weather, fostering a culture of ‘suck it up buttercup’ rather than complaining.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan confirmed that Canadians are generally polite, suggesting this stems from the necessity of dealing with harsh weather by choosing action over complaint. This cultural trait aligns with a ‘suck it up buttercup’ attitude. This contrasts slightly with Amy Poehler’s experience with Bostonian Irish parents who also discouraged self-aggrandizement.
Realizing Musical Gift
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(00:11:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Sarah McLachlan first realized her musical gift during a seventh-grade talent show where she sang Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler,’ and the subsequent microphone failure ironically validated her talent.
  • Summary: McLachlan identified her musical potential during a seventh-grade variety show where she performed ‘The Gambler’ on acoustic guitar. When the microphone stopped working mid-song, the audience assumed it was a recording, refusing to believe she was singing live. This disbelief, however, confirmed to McLachlan that her performance was professional enough to be mistaken for a recording.
Early Musical Influences and Training
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(00:12:59)
  • Key Takeaway: McLachlan’s early musical foundation included folk icons like Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel, supplemented by 12 years of classical guitar training.
  • Summary: As a young artist, McLachlan listened to folk singer-songwriters such as Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell. Her formal training was extensive, involving 12 years of classical guitar, six years of classical piano, and four years of voice lessons through the Royal Conservatory of Music. Despite this foundation, she found classical music was not her primary creative interest.
Securing First Record Deal
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(00:13:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Sarah McLachlan secured a five-record deal at age 19 after a record label president saw her perform, despite initial resistance from the label to work with her.
  • Summary: At 17, McLachlan was invited to join a band in Vancouver, but her parents insisted she finish high school first. Later, Terry McBride, president of the independent label, offered her a five-record deal while she was working at Club Flamingo. Initially, the label network was hesitant to work with her because she lacked a track record or written material, forcing her to write her first record quickly.
First Radio Play Validation
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(00:17:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The surreal moment of hearing her own song, ‘Vox,’ on the radio during a promotional tour validated her career for both McLachlan and her publicist.
  • Summary: The first time Sarah McLachlan heard her music on the radio was while in a taxi cab en route to Toronto for her first promotional tour. When ‘Vox’ played, she and her publicist screamed in excitement, startling the driver. This moment provided concrete validation that her career was becoming real, moving beyond surreal expectations.
Songs Taking On Their Own Life
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(00:18:12)
  • Key Takeaway: McLachlan views her songs as having their own subjective journeys, often resonating with listeners during pivotal life moments, which she finds beautiful.
  • Summary: Music and art are subjective, allowing listeners to impart their own stories onto the creations, which is how songs gain meaning for others. McLachlan cherishes hearing how her music has supported people through major life events, such as high school, university, or loss. She noted that ‘Angel’ has had a massive life of its own, raising $30 million for the SPCA.
Lilith Fair’s Operational Ethos
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(00:29:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Lilith Fair operated on an ethos of respect and hospitality, providing health insurance to crew members, which was highly unusual in the touring industry.
  • Summary: The festival was an extension of McLachlan’s personal ethos, focusing on treating everyone—artists, crew, and staff—with respect and ensuring they felt taken care of. A key operational difference was providing health insurance to crew members, a benefit rarely offered on tours at that time. This created a safe, positive environment where everyone felt included and well-fed.
Adjustments and Inclusivity at Lilith Fair
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(00:31:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Subsequent years of Lilith Fair involved crucial adjustments, including actively seeking out Black and brown artists after initial lineups were perceived as a ‘White Chick Folk Fest.’
  • Summary: Early feedback suggested the festival was perceived as a ‘White Chick Folk Fest,’ prompting necessary adjustments in subsequent years. Management struggled to place artists from different genres, but the success of the first year allowed them to push for greater diversity. They also expanded their community impact by donating ticket proceeds to local women’s shelters and featuring local artists on stages in every market.
Extroversion vs. Introversion Among Artists
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(00:39:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Tracy Chapman was cited as the most introverted artist on the Lilith Fair tour, while Sheryl Crow and Amy and Emily were among the most extroverted.
  • Summary: The conversation highlighted that performers are not necessarily extroverts, noting Tracy Chapman’s profound shyness despite her powerful stage presence. In contrast, artists like Sheryl Crow and the Indigo Girls brought a loud, proud, and extroverted energy to the tour. This dynamic showed how different personalities contributed to the festival’s overall atmosphere.
Misogyny and Internalized Bias
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(00:40:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Older generations of female artists often operated in highly competitive, marginalizing environments where they had to assimilate by not supporting peers, a dynamic younger women in the industry no longer face.
  • Summary: Women in the music industry prior to the 90s often received only a tiny sliver of opportunities, forcing them into competition with each other. This environment normalized mistreatment, such as physical harassment, which women often endured to avoid being ostracized. Journalist Ann Powers, who initially criticized Lilith Fair, later acknowledged her critique stemmed from grappling with internalized misogyny to fit in with her male counterparts.
Managing Festival Logistics
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(00:44:55)
  • Key Takeaway: While Dan Fraser managed the day-to-day operations, Sarah McLachlan served as the de facto HR, handling interpersonal conflicts and ensuring every new artist felt welcomed.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan was not the primary festival runner, but she acted as the primary point of contact for interpersonal issues, essentially serving as HR. She managed daily decisions, put out fires, and wrote welcoming letters to over a hundred artists each year. This constant management was exhausting but necessary to maintain the desired hospitable environment.
Motherhood and Communication Struggles
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(00:52:12)
  • Key Takeaway: McLachlan realized her tough parenting style toward her eldest daughter, intended to build grit, was actually exacerbating her daughter’s undiagnosed anxiety.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan admitted she was a ‘hard ass’ parent, believing she was contrasting her own upbringing, but later realized her communication style was damaging. Her daughter’s rage and frustration were later identified as anxiety, not ADHD, meaning McLachlan’s tough approach was counterproductive. This realization led to humble pie and a necessary shift in communication, resulting in a more open and loving relationship.
Parenting Communication Challenges
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(00:53:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Unintentional negative communication patterns stemming from attempts to build grit can mask underlying anxiety in children, requiring parental self-reflection and communication adjustment.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan realized her tough approach, intended to foster grit, was actually making her child feel inadequate due to miscommunication. Family systems counseling helped peel back layers, leading to necessary humble pie and a shift toward more supportive communication. This process ultimately resulted in a more open and loving relationship.
Maternal Judgment and Pressure
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(00:54:02)
  • Key Takeaway: The societal narrative that mothers must always succeed creates intense, often internalized, judgment, exemplified by scrutiny over minor public parenting moments.
  • Summary: Amy Poehler emphasized that women constantly break free from the unrealistic expectation of getting everything right as mothers. This pressure manifests as constant judgment, frequently from within, regarding actions like letting a child cry in public. Sharing these vulnerabilities often elicits shared relief and recognition among peers.
Menopause Conversation Gap
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(00:55:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Historically, menopause lacked open conversation, leading to medical dismissal of symptoms, a dynamic now being challenged by increased social media dialogue.
  • Summary: The lack of public conversation around menopause meant women often had to ‘suck it up’ regarding significant physical changes, with doctors sometimes minimizing issues like frozen shoulder potentially being related. Social media platforms are now enabling women to discuss these experiences openly, forcing medical professionals to finally pay attention to widespread suffering.
Sleep Routine and Red Light Therapy
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(00:55:57)
  • Key Takeaway: Estrogen and progesterone replacement therapy significantly improved Sarah McLachlan’s ability to sleep well, and she uses red light therapy for muscle recovery from intense physical activity like skate skiing.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan is a good sleeper now that she is on hormone replacement therapy, which had previously deteriorated during menopause. Her sleep ritual involves 15 minutes of lying under a six-foot panel of red/infrared light, which aids muscle recovery after activities like skate skiing. She aims to go to bed around 9 or 10 PM to ensure eight hours of sleep.
Skate Skiing Clarification
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(00:56:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Skate skiing is a distinct cross-country technique performed on corduroy surfaces using narrow ‘skate skis,’ contrasting with the classic style done in grooves.
  • Summary: Skate skiing is a form of cross-country skiing where movement occurs on the corduroy surface, unlike classic style which uses grooves. The activity is physically demanding, involving climbing hills and being outdoors for hours, often on frozen lakes, and Sarah McLachlan takes her dogs along.
Rapid Fire Preferences
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(00:58:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Phoebe Bridgers and Boygenius are current musical interests, Vancouver is the preferred Canadian city, and healthcare is cited as the primary benefit of being Canadian over American.
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan predicts Phoebe Bridgers or Boygenius would top her Spotify Wrapped, noting Boygenius represents a powerhouse trio of independent singer-songwriters. She chose Vancouver as the best Canadian city, and when pressed on the non-American benefit, she quickly stated ‘healthcare.’ She also confirmed she surfs and has been doing so since age 30.
SNL Appearance Recall
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(00:59:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Sarah McLachlan’s appearance on SNL while Rudy Giuliani hosted in 1997 included her participation in a sketch featuring Anna Gasteyer’s character Cinder Calhoun performing the song ‘Baste It in Blood.’
  • Summary: Sarah McLachlan recalls being on SNL when Rudy Giuliani hosted, though her clearest memory involves Anna Gasteyer’s character, Cinder Calhoun. Cinder Calhoun was a progressive singer-songwriter character who performed a Thanksgiving song titled ‘Baste It in Blood,’ in which McLachlan played an instrument.
Closing Thoughts and Tributes
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(01:01:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Pat Benatar is celebrated as an artist who consistently made music on her own terms, similar to Sarah McLachlan, and is invited to appear on ‘Good Hang with Amy Poehler.’
  • Summary: Amy Poehler praised Sarah McLachlan for always being ahead of her time and making music independently. She used the closing segment to pay tribute to Pat Benatar, citing her as an amazing artist whose voice and career path parallel McLachlan’s. Poehler concluded by inviting Pat Benatar onto the podcast, emphasizing that music will save everyone.