‘My own self worth’: Sarah McLachlan sounds off on the power of music

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Sarah McLachlan shared a little bit about the transformative impact of music on her younger self during a holiday performance at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver on Thursday evening.

“I didn’t have any friends in high school or junior high. I was really shy. And music was the one thing that kind of kept me together,” she said. “It gave me a sense of my own self worth.”

Singing in support of her Sarah McLachlan School of Music, which she started 25 years ago in Vancouver, the celebrated singer-songwriter shared more about the impact of the school.

“It’s a completely free music and mentorship program,” she told the crowd. “And we’re serving over 2,200 kids now, every year, in Vancouver, in New Westminster and in Edmonton.

“It is a great passion of mine to see children and youth prosper and learn about themselves through music. It is such a gift.”

The Grammy-and-Juno-winning artist then wowed the crowd with a performance of her 1997 hit song Building a Mystery and other hit tunes.

The performance comes after McLachlan battled issues with her voice last year.

“I had a rough six months. I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to sing again. But, I think it’s good,” McLachlan told The Vancouver Sun in a 2025 interview. “It’s different. I have had to do some workarounds, but I think it’s going to hold out.”

This isn’t the first time McLachlan has been part of an intimate store event in support of her namesake school this year.

In March, the singer-songwriter took to the stage at the Pyrrha boutique at 2040 Columbia Street to raise awareness for a fundraising pendant she’d created with the homegrown jewelry brand.

McLachlan’s Vancouver performance at Holt Renfrew for the Canadian retailer’s Hotel Holts holiday campaign was mirrored in Toronto by a performance by Juno Award-winning musician Feist and a display by the les Grands Ballets Canadien in Montreal at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.

—With files by Dana Gee, Postmedia News