Remember Sarah McLachlan? She’s Back!

Along with hits including “Angel,” “Adia” and “I Will Remember You,” singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan is known for founding the Lilith Fair tour in the ’90s — and appearing in a tear-jerking ad for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Better Broken is the 57-year-old’s first album of new material in 11 years.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sarah McLachlan’s newest album, “Better Broken,” comes out Sept. 19.

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You sing with your daughters, India and Taja, on the new track “One in a Long Line.” What was that experience like?

They have beautiful voices, but I think because I am a singer, they don’t want to go that way. But every once in a while I’ll hear my youngest singing in the back seat. In a weak moment, I caught her and convinced her that she should sing on the record. My eldest was all for it.

How do you feel when younger artists like Olivia Rodrigo cite you as an influence?

It’s beautiful validation that something I’ve created has lifted people’s spirits or made them feel closer to themselves. I pinch myself every day for the life I have because of music. I love that I get to be part of something bigger than myself.

McLachlan performs at Lilith Fair in July 1998 in Wantagh, New York. She founded the woman-focused music festival in 1997.

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Do you think the music industry has improved for women since you launched Lilith Fair with an all-female lineup?

I’d like to think that the success of Lilith paved the way to a certain degree, allowing the changing of attitudes. Originally, it was like, “You can’t put two women on the same bill” or “You can’t play two women back-to-back on the radio.” The success of Lilith blew those old-school attitudes out of the water. In the same sense, I’ve had women walk up to me and say, “I was at the first Lilith Fair, and you showed me that I could do and be anything I wanted to, and I’m running a corporation now.” The stories just keep coming, and it’s amazing.

You’ve written a lot of songs about love. Has your view of romantic relationships changed as you’ve gotten older?

Early on, I thought I needed a partner or a relationship to complete myself. The older I get, the more I realize I actually like myself just fine on my own. When you’re not seeking it out and desperate to fill some sort of void in yourself, you tend to attract a very different kind of person. I’m in this incredible, healthy relationship that’s based on mutual admiration and trust and adoration and the pursuit of fun and joy.