Evocative, theatrical, ethereal, healing, graceful, creative are a few of the adjectives used to describe Rachael Sage and her music, seemingly inseparable. This emotional palette has coloured not only the fifteen albums this prolific alt-pop, multi-instrumentalist has recorded over the years, but also other endeavors she more than just dabbles in: painter, performer, poet, visual artist, ballet dancer (who performed with the New York City Ballet), record label exec (MPress Records), and philanthropic advocate for various causes such as the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, which has consistently been ranked as one of the top two cancer centres in America. Sage is a cancer thriver, not simply a survivor, which entails more than just continuing to exist on the planet after a bout with cancer but also growing, prospering and flourishing, in effect, allowing abundance to enter your life.
Sage was born in Port Chester, NY where she spent her terrible twos learning to play piano. “I started playing my family’s living room piano at 2 years old, and by kindergarten I was writing full songs with verses and choruses.” Unsurprisingly, with the arts her calling, she lived in the East Village in Manhattan for over twenty years before moving to the Hudson Valley in Upstate NY, travelling back and forth to NYC for work when she’s not on the road. A hotel room in Madison, Wisconsin for The National Women’s Music Fest is where the road brought her to record this exclusive Americana UK mini-gig.
In the video, she is finger-picking her distinctive red Guild guitar on songs from “The Other Side,” her most recent album and its reimagined acoustic companion album ‘Another Side,’ which has the stripped-down instrumentation similar to the mini-gig. Supporting her is violinist Kelly Halloran, a longtime collaborator, whose harmony vocals blend with Sage’s alluring, airy voice. Harmony is a recurring theme in Sage’s music, including the four songs from the mini-gig, which she describes next:
- ‘Whistle Blow’ is on both of my recent albums. It was written in response to more than one news item during lockdown recounting powerful individuals in leadership positions – both in the political and celebrity spaces – having engaged in inappropriate behavior and crossed boundaries in their places of work that essentially caused them to be “cancelled.” Equally important, the song honors those who had been victimized yet courageous enough to stand up for themselves and seek justice, to prevent further misbehavior. The song is basically a composite story in honor of anyone who has had the strength to say “No, enough is enough, and I will no longer be afraid to stand up to abuse.”
- ‘The Place of Fun’ is the first song on “Another Side” and is also my next UK single. It’s very dense lyrically and essentially a stream-of-consciousness monologue about looking in the mirror and, as the Taylor Swift song said (a few years after I penned this one), “I’m the problem, it’s me.” There is so much fear, insecurity and self-loathing that arises in relationships, over time and personally, I’ve never been able to quite reconcile my ongoing need for the space and silence to create and reflect with the expectations to be present and loving in the way that a partner needs to feel secure. I often feel that there is so little consistency in my life in light of being a touring musician that it’s difficult to readjust to domesticity and the idea of home being one’s primary residence rather than the road. Covid and lockdown forced so many of us who are used to traveling and touring as a way of being in the world to be in one place for so long that there was effectively no escape. This song is about resolving to do better as a person offstage – as a communicator and as a loved-one, while still being authentic.
- ‘Rebecca’ is one of my favorite songs to play live because it’s upbeat, fun, catchy and about a very special woman who is a disability rights lawyer and is also raising a child with special needs – balancing work and family with grace, confidence and intelligence. I didn’t know this woman very well but her husband told me a bunch of things about her activities and interests, her values and her idealism. I think I fell a little bit in love with her by writing the song, and since it’s also a sing-a-long with parts that are easy to chime in with, it’s a fun one to do at summer festivals!
- ‘Alive’ is the most upbeat, positive song on my album “Myopia,” and after I wrote it, I felt very protective of it – like there was something precious about remembering to appreciate the gift of simply living, even as the world becomes ever more chaotic. From the get-go, there’s a sense of anticipation and optimism in the lyrics, and it was very important to me that we capture the pure exuberance of the music via the movement of our brilliant young dancer Elliana Walmsley, whose sheer stamina was nothing short of staggering. On set, watching her fly through the air take after take with a smile on her face, bursting with the sheer joy of doing what she loves – however arduous – literally gave me hope for our future.
Before Gage and Halloran began playing ‘Alive,’ Rachael mentioned that the song is about her favourite artist, Frida Kahlo, who painted portraits and self-portraits as well as the nature and artefacts of Mexico during the first half of the 20th century. The love of Kahlo’s life was the Mexican painter Diego Rivera, who once described Kahlo to Picasso as “Acid and tender, hard as steel and delicate and fine as a butterfly’s wing, lovable as a beautiful smile, and profound and cruel as the bitterness of life.” One could make the case that Rivera could have as easily been talking about Sage’s music.
Between the first and second songs, she “squishes up” a bracelet on her wrist, reminding her by its inscription to “be yourself.” That’s not always easy as it’s necessary to actually like yourself in order to truly be yourself in any positive sense. My sense is that Rachael Sage is a woman anyone would enjoy knowing or at least attending one of her performances. On September 3rd, she will play the first of 23 shows in the UK. “I’m super excited to be returning to the UK in the fall,” she said, “touring with Will Young, which should be a thrill! My last tour there was in the Spring with the legendary Lulu (including a stint at The Palladium), so it’ll be fun to come back and hopefully get to serenade some new listeners we met along her farewell tour.”
Click this link for Rachael Sage’s tour schedule. And for those not purchasing music on Amazon, you can browse through her recordings on her website. Enjoy this latest exclusive AUK mini-gig. It’s really good.
