Sarah McLachlan: Tiny Desk Concert

Sarah McLachlan: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Ann Powers | February 12, 2026

During a Sarah McLachlan performance, the chills come when you least expect them. One of the most expressive singer-songwriters of her generation, McLachlan makes the goosebumps happen with her gloriously gentle, iridescent voice — particularly through her negotiation of the break between its registers. She does just that in the first song of this Tiny Desk, an almost country-fied version of her 1997 hit “Building a Mystery.” With Luke Doucet’s impossibly delicate guitar arpeggios as her guide, McLachlan takes the song beyond its edge at the very last minute, gliding into a high note that remains unresolved. It’s one of several moments here that feel miraculous.

McLachlan has long been a purveyor of such small graces. Despite her renown as founder of the Lilith Fair tour, she has been underestimated as a major player in the reinvention of pop balladry, when she updated a folk-based sound with modern-rock flourishes and a fresh, feminist perspective. Here, playing alongside her longtime collaborators Doucet and Melissa McClelland — a husband-wife duo who’ve made many beautiful albums under the name Whitehorse — she highlights the side of her art that’s grounded in deep feeling and unassuming virtuosity. At one point, she apologizes to those watching because her back is to them while she’s at the piano. But from whatever angle experienced, this is one of the Tiny Desk’s warmest and most poignant sets.

SET LIST

“Building a Mystery”

“Reminds Me”

“Only Human”

“Adia”

“Angel”

MUSICIANS

Sarah McLachlan: vocals, guitar, piano

Luke Doucet: guitar, background vocals

Melissa McClelland: bass, background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Mitra I. Arthur

Director/Editor: Kara Frame

Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell

Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern

Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai

Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite

Photographer: Michael Zamora

Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Felix Contreras

Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#tinydesk #nprmusic #sarahmclachlan

Support for NPR Music comes from Levi's. Behind the moments that matter, originals are out there, living the stories worth telling. What's yours? Live in Levi's.