Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan hits Auckland

By TIM LAMB

Sarah McLachlan has made some adjustments since she last toured.

Shopping time for the Canadian ballad-queen has diminished, she now carries three suitcases instead of one backpack and does her best to stay at luxury hotels overlooking a park.

All the changes can be put down to catering for the newest member of her entourage, 2-year-old daughter India. It's the first time the 36-year-old has hit the road since the birth of her first child and it comes after the release of her first studio album in six years.

"She's done fantastic," the beaming mother says of her girl, "and I couldn't be doing any of this if she didn't seem to be taking so well to it.

"I tell India we are going on an aeroplane and she gets all excited. She loves all the change."

When you consider how sad and sorrowful so many of her songs sound, McLachlan is a surprisingly bubbly character. And, she's happy enough to promote the fact that she's a proud mother ahead of her musical successes, while talking on the phone from Australia.

"I always knew I would have a girl and I always knew I would name her India," McLachlan says. "It probably has to do with a fascination for the country, which I think is a beautiful, complex, intense place and I think it's a beautiful and unusual name that not too many children are going to have."

McLachlan and her eight-piece band, including drummer, husband and India's father Ash Sood, will hit New Zealand this week. The 73-show world tour will then head to North America and finish in Europe in November.

While excited about the prospect of having her daughter on tour, McLachlan harbours concerns about raising India in such a public environment.

"My fear mostly is I want her to know that Ash and I are her parents, because she's around so many adoring adults all the time and not very many children. Children need to socialise with their own peer group," she says.

"It's just something I'm going to have to figure out as we go. I'm trying to keep her away from the venues as much as I can, although that's gonna change when we get to North America and are travelling in a bus."

Born in Halifax on Canada's east coast, at 19 McLachlan was offered what she terms "the golden egg" - a recording contract. Her resume includes three Grammy Awards and selling more than 22 million albums since 1988.

Her biggest musical credit to date may be her elevation of women's music during the 1990s with the creation of the all-female festival tour Lilith Fair. The three-year project boosted the profile of singers such as Nelly Furtado, the Dixie Chicks and Dido, but also raised $7 million for charity.

"When I looked around at all the other summer festivals they were completely male dominated. There was this wealth of amazing music being made at the time by females, yet it was very unrepresented," she says.

"When Lilith ended it felt like the door got closed a little. As far as what's exceedingly popular, women were certainly at a height or peak during that time as far as media scrutiny.

"I think there's now definitely a resurgence of singer-songwriters, both male and female, which I'm, of course, happy about as I'm lumped into that category."

McLachlan's new album, Afterglow, her first studio offering since 1997's Surfacing, culminates a period of joy and sorrow - five months before India was born, McLachlan's mother passed away.

The sombre collection of new songs were all created on piano, unlike her previous guitar-written works.

Her Auckland concert will feature a cross-section of music from her last three albums. But she'll have minimal spare time in New Zealand during a four-day, three-concert stop-over.

"What I want to do is come back next year and really take some time afterwards to spend in Australia and New Zealand and just tour about."

During that time, McLachlan also intends to hit the waves to continue her interest in surfing, a past-time she took up six years ago. "I surfed at Christmas on Vancouver Island, it was snowing and it was fabulous - we're hardcore us Canadians."

However, this Canadian, now living in Vancouver, is not making any promises about future albums. Instead, she has plans to expand the family.

"I want to have another child after I finish all the touring with this record," she says. "Then who knows, maybe it will be 10 years until the next record.

"I feel like I've so far exceeded any expectations as far as my career, I've had so many amazing opportunities and so many great things happen to me, it's been a great ride. If I were to quit now I would be really happy - in the same breath I still love making music and don't intend to quit anytime soon."

If McLachlan does decide to tour again in the future, keep a close eye out for any special guests. "India already has great pitch and she's 2," she says. "If she chose to go into the music business I would have to look at the fact that we are very prepared for it at least."

* Sarah McLachlan performs at the Wellington Town Hall tonight and at the ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, on Monday.