Some Girls

Survival hardly seems a problem, though. And media puffery aside, the whole thing seems almost too good to be true. Still, the responsibilities of being the queen of Lilith can be overwhelming.

"Playing last after a long day of music is always challenging," McLachlan says. "It's getting toward the end [of the show] and [the audience is] thinking, 'Man, I got a two-hour drive home. How do I get out of the parking lot?' So we do the songs that get played on the radio a lot, and maybe the new singles. We're playing some really slow songs, too. I prefer playing slow songs. Everybody's being very attentive." She pauses and laughs. "At first, I thought they were falling asleep. But, thank goodness, they're just listening."

The Lilith Fair festival takes place Tuesday, December 16, starting at 4:30 p.m. at Coral Sky Amphitheatre, 601 Sansbury's Way, West Palm Beach, 561-795-8883, with Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Luscious Jackson, the Indigo Girls, Missy Elliott, and more. Tickets cost $18.75.