Rachael Sage

Rachael Sage is an American singer-songwriter and producer, visual artist, and founded her own record label at the dawn of her musical career. As a youth, Sage dabbled in a variety of the arts, from dance to poetry, but it is as a musician that she is best known. Sage has shared stages with A Great Big World,^[1] Semi Precious Weapons,^[2] Sarah McLachlan, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals, Jamie Cullum, and Ani DiFranco, and was named one of the Top 100 Independent Artists of the Past 15 Years by Performing Songwriter magazine. Her performances combine music with musicianship with between-song banter, which The New York Times dubbed Sage's "inner Fanny Brice", and "Jewish Norah Jones"—even going so far as to call her a comedienne.^[3] She has released eleven solo albums, as of July 2013, on her own label, MPress Records, and regularly tours both North America and Europe.

Biography

Early years

Sage was born in Port Chester, New York, and studied drama and ballet, before switching to music. A self-taught pianist, influenced by her parents' doo-wop and Beatles records, as well as Broadway cast albums, creating early demos on a 4-track recording system she received as a Bat Mitzvah present. During Junior High school, Sage gained admission to the School of American Ballet. Sage attended Stanford University, earning a degree in Drama. Later, she was in the Actors Studio MFA program. Her performance in their New York talent search won Sage a place on the Village Stage of the 1999 Lilith Fair.^[4]

Sage at the keyboards in concert

Professional work

The word theatrical has been used to describe Sage's sound.^[5] Famed pop producer Phil Ramone said of working with Sage that he was reminded of collaborating with Bob Dylan, and that "She has a very unusual way of treating a pop song. I admire her editorial and musical ability when it comes to crafting a tune."^[6]

In 2005, she won Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song for "Sacrifice" at the 4th Annual Independent Music Awards.

More recently, Sage's "Brave Mistake" was nominated for Best Story Song at The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards,^[7] and Sage herself took home OUTstanding Producer for her song "Hope's Outpost" at The 7th Annual OUTMusic Awards.

As a writer, Sage wrote about homeless youth in her adopted hometown of New York City. She was billed as a "Guest celebrity contributor" by The Morton Report. In her editorial, she mentioned a collaboration of artists, unveiling an album, New Arrivals Vol. 4: Artists Against Youth Homelessness, with proceeds going to the National Network for Youth.^[8]

As a visual artist, Sage's paintings and collage have been shown in small galleries in Lower Manhattan,^[9] and she has also contributed original artwork to her own CD package designs.

Rachael Sage appears on "Both Sides Now: the Very Best of Judy Collins," performing a duet with Collins on the Neil Young song, "Helpless." ^[10]

Discography

Solo

• Morbid Romantic (1996)
• Smashing the Serene (1998)
• Painting of a Painting (2001)
• Illusion's Carnival (2002)
• Public Record (2003)
• Ballads & Burlesque (2004)
• The Blistering Sun (2006)
• Chandelier (2008)
• Delancey Street (2010)
• Haunted By You (2012)
• Haunted By You - The Acoustic EP (2012)
• New Destination EP (2014)
• Blue Roses (2014)

Collaborations

• New Arrivals Vol. 4: Artists Against Youth Homelessness (2011)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rachael Sage.

• Rachael Sage Official Site
• Rachael Sage Facebook Fan Page
• Rachael Sage on Twitter
• Rachael Sage on Myspace