Rachael Sage

Rachael Sage 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]

Rachael Sage
Background information
Born1971 (age 51–52)
Port Chester, New York, U.S.
GenresPop, folk, rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, visual artist
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboards, guitar
Years active1995–present
LabelsMPress Records
Websiterachaelsage.com

Early life

Sage was born in 1971 in Port Chester, New York, to shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and his wife, Jane.[3][4][5] Sage studied drama and ballet before switching to music. A self-taught pianist, influenced by her parents' doo-wop and the 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".[7] She studied theater with professors such as playwright Anna Deavere Smith,[8] and graduated in 1993 with a degree in drama.[9][10] For one year, she was in the Actors Studio MFA program.[11] Her performance in their New York talent search won her a place on the Village Stage of the 1999 Lilith Fair.[12]

Music

Sage's career includes the writing of jingles and theme music for film and television; her first notable jingle customer was Crystal Light.[10] She began using the name "Rachael Sage" in 1995,[13][14] and in 1996 she started her own record label, MPress Records,[10] inspired by Ani DiFranco founding Righteous Babe Records six years earlier.[7]

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.[10]

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.[16] 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]

Rachael Sage performing in New York City in 2016

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.[7]

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".[8] 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
  • 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)
  • Blue Roses (2014)
  • Choreographic (2016)
  • Myopia (2018)
  • Character (2020)
  • The Other Side (2023)

Acoustic albums
  • Choreographic (Acoustic) (2016)
  • PseudoMyopia (2019)

EPs
  • Haunted by You – Acoustic EP (2012)
  • New Destination (2014)
  • The Tide (2017)
  • Character (Acoustic) (2020)

Collaborations
  • New Arrivals Vol. 1: Artists For Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief (2006)
  • New Arrivals Vol. 2: Artists Against Hunger & Poverty (2007)
  • New Arrivals Vol. 3: Artists For Eating Disorders Awareness (2008)
  • New Arrivals Vol. 4: Artists Against Youth Homelessness (2011)
  • New Arrivals Vol. 5: Artists For Hurricane Sandy Relief (2013)
  • Both Sides Now – The Very Best Of Judy Collins (2014)
  • Poetica (2021)[33]

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 Ref.
2001 The Great American Song Contest Acoustic Rachael Sage Won [36]
John Lennon Songwriting Contest Rock Rachael Sage Won
2002 Billboard Songwriting Contest R&B Rachael Sage Won
2005 OutMusic Awards OutStanding Songwriter Rachael Sage, Ballads & Burlesque Won [37]
Independent Music Awards Song – Folk/Singer-Songwriter Rachael Sage, "Sacrifice" Won [16]
2006 The Great American Song Contest Contemporary Acoustic/Folk Rachael Sage, "93 Maidens" Won [38]
2008 Grand Prize Rachael Sage, "Hunger In John" Won [39]
2009 OutMusic Awards OutStanding Producer Rachael Sage, "Vertigo" Won
OutStanding Songwriter Rachael Sage, Chandelier Won
2011 OutStanding Producer Rachael Sage, "Hope's Outpost" Won [17]
Independent Music Awards Song – Story Rachael Sage, "Brave Mistake" Nominated [16]
2019 Music Producer – Pop Rachael Sage & John Shyloski, Myopia Won [40]
2021 Pop Awards Icon of the Year Rachael Sage Nominated [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]

References
  1. "The Indie 100". Performing Songwriter (110). June 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  2. "A Ninth Night of Lights". The New York Times. December 23, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  3. Tucker, Michael (March 8, 2022). "Rachael Sage: Poetica". Jazz Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. Liebenson, Bess (November 19, 2000). "Slip Into Something More Artistic". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. St. John, Warren (March 3, 2002). "Tryin' Hard to Get Free, Via Rap on Your Own CD". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2022. Rachael Weitzman, 29, a daughter of the shoe designer Stuart Weitzman... under the name Rachael Sage.
  6. "Rachael Sage – Bio". Artist Vision. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  7. Miller, Louis (November 4, 2002). "Artist Spotlight: Rachael Sage". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 73, no. 787. p. 29. ISSN 0890-0795.
  8. Staff (November 14, 2020). "Hot Licks: Rachael Sage". Curve. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  9. Saval, Malina (June 18, 2004). "Sage for the Ages". Forward.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  10. Batte, Summer Moore (July–August 2004). "So You Wanna Be A Rock Star". Stanford Magazine. Stanford University. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  11. Damiano, Mary (July 28, 2003). "Rachael Sage: Music's Best-Kept Secret" (PDF). Q Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  12. Hay, Carla (August 7, 1999). "Sage Advice". Billboard. p. 18.
  13. Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Vol. 1262. U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. 2002. p. 947.
  14. Brands and Their Companies (29 ed.). Gale Cengage. 2007. p. 1531. ISBN 9780787689551.
  15. Phares, Heather. "Rachael Sage – Morbid Romantic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  16. "Past IMA Programs". Independent Music Awards (IMAs). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  17. "Winners from Monday night's OutMusic Awards". Dallas Voice. May 24, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  18. Sage, Rachael (June 22, 2011). "Celebrity Causes: Rachael Sage for Artists Against Youth Homelessness". Editorial against homelessness. The Morton Report. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  19. "Both Sides Now: the Very Best of Judy Collins". Best Buy.
  20. "Rachael Sage Releases New Album CHOREOGRAPHIC", BroadwayWorld.com, May 20, 2016
  21. "Rachael Sage Releases New Album Character" (Press release). Newswire. March 6, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  22. B, Jae (June 25, 2020). "Interview: Rachael Sage on Survival, Gratitude and Artistic Positivity". Pop Magazine. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  23. "Rachael Sage / Lux Deluxe". Berklee College of Music. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  24. "MPressFest SXSW 2012". M Music & Musicians Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  25. The Columbus Dispatch (June 5, 2008). "Little bit of theater sets stage for songwriter's stories". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  26. Bangshowbiz – Mon, June 6, 2011 (June 6, 2011). "Rachael Sage praised by producer – Yahoo News UK". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. "A Big Week for Rachael Sage". The Muse Box. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  28. Weitzman, Elizabeth (2019). Renegade Women. Crown Publishing Group. p. 125. ISBN 9780525574545. 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. "Elizabeth Weitzman". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  30. "Rachael Sage Charity Song and Concert Benefits Orlando LGBT Community". Edge Media Network. July 25, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  31. Milano, Brett (September 19, 2020). "Singer/songwriter Rachael Sage gathers stars for online cancer event". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  32. Stagoff, Cindy (September 9, 2020). "Rachael Sage to host online cancer fundraiser with Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole and others". NJ Arts. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  33. "Poetica". PoeticaProject.com. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  34. Staff (May–June 2000). "The Artist Formerly Known as Karen". Stanford Magazine. Stanford University. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  35. "Rachael Sage – Awards". RachaelSage.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  36. "Great American Song Hall of Fame". The Great American Song Contest. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  37. "The Outmusic Awards". Queer Music Heritage. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  38. "8th Annual Great American Song". The Great American Song Contest. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  39. "10th Annual Great American Song". The Great American Song Contest. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  40. "The 17th Independent Music Awards Winners". Independent Music Awards (IMAs). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  41. Mackle, Jenna (January 17, 2021). "Welcome to the POP AWARDS 2021, the fourth annual Pop Awards". Pop Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  42. "Pop Awards 2021, the 4th annual Pop Awards". Pop Awards. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  43. Zimmerman, Peter (May 21, 2012). "Rachael Sage Continues To Be Haunted By You". Glide Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  44. "About – MPress Records". MPress Records. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  45. "MPress Records". Retrieved September 22, 2020.
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