Rachael Sage Explained

Rachael Sage
Background:solo_singer
Birth Place:Port Chester, New York, U.S.
Instrument:Vocals, keyboards, guitar
Genre:Pop, folk, rock
Occupation:Singer-songwriter, visual artist
Years Active:1995–present
Label:MPress Records

Rachael Sage (born in 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. She is the founder of indie label MPress Records. Sage has released fifteen solo studio albums. Sage was named one of the Top 100 Independent Artists of the Past 15 Years by Performing Songwriter magazine.[1] The New York Times describes Sage as "alternately channeling her inner Fanny Brice and Jewish Norah Jones".[2]

Early life

Sage was born in 1971 in Port Chester, New York, to Stuart and Jane.[3] [4] [5] Sage 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, she created demos on a four-track recording system she received as a bat mitzvah present. During junior high school, Sage gained admission to the School of American Ballet.[6] Sage attended Stanford University where she hosted a nighttime college radio show as "Full Moon Rachael". She studied theater with professors such as playwright Anna Deavere Smith,[7] and graduated in 1993 with a degree in drama.[8] [9] For one year, she was in the Actors Studio MFA program.[10] Her performance in their New York talent search won her a place on the Village Stage of the 1999 Lilith Fair.[11]

Music

Sage's career includes the writing of jingles and theme music for film and television; her first notable jingle customer was Crystal Light.[9] She began using the name "Rachael Sage" in 1995,[12] [13] and in 1996 she started her own record label, MPress Records,[9] inspired by Ani DiFranco founding Righteous Babe Records six years earlier.[14]

On April 23, 1996, Sage released her debut studio album, Morbid Romantic, on MPress.[15] She toured Europe four times and released four more albums.[9]

For her 2004 song "Sacrifice" from the album Ballads & Burlesque, Sage won Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song at the 4th Annual Independent Music Awards in 2005.[16] "Brave Mistake" from the album Delancey Street was nominated for Best Story Song at the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in 2011. In the same year, Sage won OutStanding Producer for her song "Hope's Outpost" at the 7th Annual OutMusic Awards.[17]

Sage wrote an editorial about homeless youth in New York City for 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.[18]

Sage appears on Both Sides Now: the Very Best of Judy Collins, performing a duet with Collins on the Neil Young song, "Helpless".[19]

On May 20, 2016, Sage released her 12th studio album, Choreographic, on MPress Records, featuring some of the songs that she wrote to accompany dance competition routines for Maddie Ziegler.[20]

On March 6, 2020, Sage released her 14th studio album, Character. Described as an "inspirational tribute to survivorship", the album was written as Sage was recovering from endometrial cancer. She expressed the hope that "these songs honor just how resilient the human spirit can be, and remind us that sometimes it's ok to not be ok."[21] The album reflects on themes such as compassion, gratitude, authenticity, optimism, mindfulness, forgiveness, vulnerability, and resilience, as well as issues surrounding co-dependence.[22]

Sage regularly tours in North America and Europe and has shared stages with A Great Big World,[23] Semi Precious Weapons,[24] Sarah McLachlan, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, the Animals, Jamie Cullum, and Ani DiFranco.

Sage's sound has been described as theatrical.[25] 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."[26]

Visual arts

Sage's paintings and collages have been shown in small galleries in Lower Manhattan,[27] and she has also contributed original artwork to her own CD package designs.[14]

Personal life

Sage's sister Elizabeth is a film critic and children's book author in New York.[28] [29]

Sage told Curve magazine in 2020 that she came out to her parents as bisexual in the mid-1990s. She said her songs portray her "full-range of life-experience, including having loved both men and women".[7] Sage has been celebrated by the LGBT community, winning OutMusic Awards multiple times, hosted by the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts. In 2016, she teamed with cellist Dave Eggar to produce a benefit concert to help victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, a hate crime against gay people.[30]

In 2018, Sage was treated for uterine cancer; she was in remission two years later when she organized an online benefit concert to fight cancer, with appearances by Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole and more. Sage stayed in New Haven, Connecticut, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] [32]

Discography

Studio albums

Acoustic albums

EPs

Collaborations

Awards and nominations

Sage has received numerous awards and nominations, which includes winning the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2001,[34] three wins at The Great American Song Contest, and six wins at the Independent Music Awards.[35]

Selection of awards and nominations received by Rachael Sage! Year! Award! Category! Nominee/work! Result!
2001The Great American Song ContestAcoustic Rachael Sage[36]
John Lennon Songwriting ContestRockRachael Sage
2002Billboard Songwriting ContestR&BRachael Sage
2005OutMusic AwardsOutStanding Songwriter Rachael Sage, Ballads & Burlesque[37]
Independent Music AwardsSong – Folk/Singer-SongwriterRachael Sage, "Sacrifice"
2006The Great American Song ContestContemporary Acoustic/Folk Rachael Sage, "93 Maidens"[38]
2008Grand PrizeRachael Sage, "Hunger In John"[39]
2009OutMusic AwardsOutStanding Producer Rachael Sage, "Vertigo"
OutStanding Songwriter Rachael Sage, Chandelier
2011OutStanding Producer Rachael Sage, "Hope's Outpost"
Independent Music AwardsSong – StoryRachael Sage, "Brave Mistake"
2019Music Producer – PopRachael Sage & John Shyloski, Myopia[40]
2021Pop AwardsIcon of the YearRachael Sage[41] [42]

MPress Records

Rachael Sage started MPress Records in 1996 to release her own music.[43] She is the label's president.[44]

Notable artists include:[45]

External links

Notes and References

  1. The Indie 100. Performing Songwriter. 110. June 2008. subscription. September 21, 2020.
  2. News: December 23, 2009 . A Ninth Night of Lights . . limited . July 12, 2013.
  3. News: Tucker . Michael . 8 March 2022 . Rachael Sage: Poetica . Jazz Journal . subscription . 8 April 2022.
  4. Web site: Liebenson . Bess . November 19, 2000 . Slip Into Something More Artistic . limited . March 13, 2022 . The New York Times.
  5. Web site: St. John . Warren . March 3, 2002 . Tryin' Hard to Get Free, Via Rap on Your Own CD . limited . April 14, 2022 . The New York Times . Rachael Weitzman, 29, a daughter of... under the name Rachael Sage..
  6. Web site: Rachael Sage – Bio. Artist Vision. September 21, 2020. September 17, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160917141200/http://www.artist.vision/rachael-sage. dead.
  7. Hot Licks: Rachael Sage . Staff . November 14, 2020 . . April 14, 2022.
  8. Web site: Sage for the Ages. Saval. Malina. Forward.com. June 18, 2004. September 21, 2020.
  9. So You Wanna Be A Rock Star . July–August 2004 . Batte . Summer Moore . Stanford Magazine . . April 14, 2022.
  10. Web site: Damiano . Mary . July 28, 2003 . Rachael Sage: Music's Best-Kept Secret . https://web.archive.org/web/20220124160928/http://www.originalexpressgaynews.com/issue139/Q139.pdf . January 24, 2022 . September 21, 2020 . Q Magazine.
  11. Hay. Carla. Sage Advice. Billboard. August 7, 1999. 18.
  12. Book: Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office . 1262 . 4 . 947 . 2002 . U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office .
  13. Book: Brands and Their Companies . 2007 . Gale Cengage . 9780787689551 . 29 . 1531 . registration.
  14. Artist Spotlight: Rachael Sage . 29 . Miller . Louis . CMJ New Music Report . November 4, 2002 . 73 . 787 . 0890-0795.
  15. Web site: Rachael Sage – Morbid Romantic. Phares. Heather. AllMusic. September 21, 2020.
  16. Web site: Past IMA Programs. Independent Music Awards (IMAs). September 21, 2020.
  17. Web site: Winners from Monday night's OutMusic Awards. Dallas Voice. May 24, 2011. September 21, 2020.
  18. Web site: Sage . Rachael . June 22, 2011 . Celebrity Causes: Rachael Sage for Artists Against Youth Homelessness . https://web.archive.org/web/20140331120607/http://www.themortonreport.com/celebrity/causes/celebrity-causes-rachael-sage-for-artists-against-youth-homelessness/ . March 31, 2014 . July 12, 2013 . Editorial against homelessness . The Morton Report.
  19. Web site: Both Sides Now: the Very Best of Judy Collins. Best Buy.
  20. http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Rachael-Sage-Releases-New-Album-CHOREOGRAPHIC-20160520 "Rachael Sage Releases New Album CHOREOGRAPHIC"
  21. Rachael Sage Releases New Album Character. Newswire. March 6, 2020. September 21, 2020.
  22. Web site: B . Jae . Interview: Rachael Sage on Survival, Gratitude and Artistic Positivity . Pop Magazine . June 25, 2020 . July 6, 2020.
  23. Web site: Rachael Sage / Lux Deluxe . https://web.archive.org/web/20140623142458/http://www.berklee.edu:80/events/rachael-sage . June 23, 2014 . May 29, 2014 . Berklee College of Music.
  24. Web site: MPressFest SXSW 2012. M Music & Musicians Magazine. March 1, 2012.
  25. Web site: The Columbus Dispatch . June 5, 2008 . Little bit of theater sets stage for songwriter's stories . https://web.archive.org/web/20160312105150/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/weekender/2008/06/05/9A_MUSIC05_ART_06-05-08_T9_T1ACPG8.html . March 12, 2016 . December 5, 2013 . The Columbus Dispatch.
  26. News: Bangshowbiz – Mon, June 6, 2011 . Rachael Sage praised by producer – Yahoo News UK. uk.news.yahoo.com. June 6, 2011. December 5, 2013.
  27. Web site: A Big Week for Rachael Sage. The Muse Box. May 17, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120629062818/http://themusebox.net/a-big-week-for-rachael-sage/. June 29, 2012.
  28. Book: Weitzman, Elizabeth . Renegade Women . 2019 . Crown Publishing Group . 9780525574545 . 125 . Acknowledgments: Much love and gratitude to all my family, including my parents, Stuart and Jane Weitzman, who raised me to admire renegade women, and my sister, Rachael Sage, who has always been one..
  29. Web site: Elizabeth Weitzman . . April 14, 2022.
  30. Web site: Rachael Sage Charity Song and Concert Benefits Orlando LGBT Community . July 25, 2016 . Edge Media Network . April 14, 2022.
  31. News: Singer/songwriter Rachael Sage gathers stars for online cancer event . Milano . Brett . September 19, 2020 . . April 15, 2022.
  32. Web site: Rachael Sage to host online cancer fundraiser with Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole and others . Stagoff . Cindy . September 9, 2020 . NJ Arts . April 15, 2022.
  33. Web site: Poetica. PoeticaProject.com. October 24, 2021.
  34. The Artist Formerly Known as Karen . May–June 2000 . Staff . Stanford Magazine . . April 14, 2022.
  35. Web site: Rachael Sage – Awards. RachaelSage.com. September 21, 2020.
  36. Web site: Great American Song Hall of Fame. The Great American Song Contest. September 21, 2020.
  37. Web site: The Outmusic Awards. Queer Music Heritage. September 21, 2020.
  38. Web site: 8th Annual Great American Song. The Great American Song Contest. September 21, 2020.
  39. Web site: 10th Annual Great American Song. The Great American Song Contest. September 21, 2020.
  40. Web site: The 17th Independent Music Awards Winners. Independent Music Awards (IMAs). September 21, 2020.
  41. Web site: Welcome to the POP AWARDS 2021, the fourth annual Pop Awards. January 17, 2021 . Jenna. Mackle. Pop Magazine. February 12, 2021.
  42. Web site: Pop Awards 2021, the 4th annual Pop Awards. Pop Awards. February 12, 2021.
  43. Web site: Zimmerman. Peter. Rachael Sage Continues To Be Haunted By You. Glide Magazine. May 21, 2012. September 22, 2020.
  44. Web site: About – MPress Records. MPress Records. September 22, 2020.
  45. Web site: MPress Records. September 22, 2020.

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