'I loved growing up in Nova Scotia': Sarah McLachlan excited to return to Halifax roots for tour

In conversation with Sarah McLachlan Part two: CTV’s Katie Kelly is in conversation with Sarah McLachlan.

Before she became a Canadian household name, Sarah McLachlan plied her craft in her hometown of Halifax and took jobs where she could find them, even taking work outside the Scotiabank Centre.

“I sold hot dogs out in front of (it),” she told CTV News Atlantic’s Katie Kelly. “That was one of my early gigs…selling hot dogs out there.”

McLachlan won’t be outside the Scotiabank Centre when she returns to Halifax in November; she will be headlining a show celebrating the 30th anniversary of her album “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.”

McLachlan, who now lives in Vancouver, grew up in Halifax and she’s excited to see the parts of the city that left an indelible impression on her.

“I definitely want to walk down Spring Garden Road,” she said. “I want to go to the library. I spent a lot of time in front of that library busking and I just want to see what it looks like now because…I haven’t been there in so many years.”

McLachlan said she hopes to have a day off to explore the East Coast during the tour.

“It’s been like 36 years since I’ve spent any real time there,” she said. “I loved growing up in Nova Scotia. Everywhere I go when I tell (people) I’m from the Maritimes, they’re like, ‘Oh, no wonder.’

“Maritimers are just such good people, they’re so kind and open so I get that everywhere I go, which makes me even prouder to be from Halifax and from Nova Scotia.”

McLachlan, who will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame this weekend, is looking forward to sharing her music with a Maritime crowd.

“That intense emotional connection happens on this massive scale with all the people that are there,” she said. “That energy that’s shared is just…it’s like this commonality of vulnerability and human experiences.

“It’s visceral and beautiful.”

McLachlan will perform at the Avenir Centre in Moncton on Nov. 4 and the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Nov. 5.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.