Rachael Sage (End Of Year 2025)

Following the release of her luminous new album 'Canopy', a record rooted in empathy, safety, and radical inclusivity, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Rachael Sage has spent much of the past seven months on the road, bringing its message of shelter and self-acceptance to audiences across the UK and beyond. Now touring with The Overtones for the festive season in her “home away from home,” Sage continues to prove that music can be both a refuge and a rallying cry.

Released as her first full project under the banner of Rachael Sage & The Sequins, 'Canopy' arrives as a bold evolution, sonically rich, emotionally generous, and deeply human. This year has also seen Sage named the first-ever official ambassador for LGBTQ+ mental health charity Rainbow Mind, alongside standout performances with artists such as Toyah Willcox and Rebecca Ferguson. 2025 has been a year defined by momentum, advocacy, and fearless vulnerability.

As she reflects on touring, inclusivity, self-acceptance, and the importance of feeling seen in an increasingly divided world, we caught up with Rachael for her end-of-year Q&A to talk Canopy, community, creativity, and why music remains her greatest tool for healing and hope.

Hey Rachael, how are you?

Hello, and thank you for asking! I’m quite well - just a little road-ragged from touring nonstop, the last several months…but other than that I’m grateful and happy to be doing a bunch of holiday shows with The Overtones in the UK - my “home away from home”!

You released your brand-new album, ‘Canopy,’ in October - a collection of songs welcoming shelter, empathy, and inclusivity. What initially inspired you to write the album?

The reality is that our sociopolitical climate in the US - and globally for that matter - has been increasingly divisive and violent, and so many individuals as well as marginalized groups have felt increasingly unsafe and vulnerable as a result. Hate and bullying on social media is rampant and it impacts every age group. Women’s rights and the rights of minorities across the board are something we can’t take for granted and moreover people just need ways to feel safe, heard, and celebrated for who they are as human beings with unique and beautiful differences, whatever they may be! I’ve always believed that music can be a salve, a way to bring people together and to heal - so in many respects that’s what inspired me to write the song “Canopy” and to curate this record as a whole around the themes of safety, inclusivity and  empathy. The title track is as much an invitation to listen as to provide a safe place for all voices (especially women!) to be heard, and it’s also a song that rejects cancel culture as a whole.

If people are afraid to communicate with each other in a civilized and respectful way because it risks being “cancelled” then very little progress can be made, so hopefully this music encourages everyone to be more open and, as a certain Vice President was fond of saying, to “lower the temperature” a bit so we can actually hear one another. 

It’s your first album as a band - Rachael Sage & The Sequins. How does this differ to releasing music as a solo artist, and how did their individual contributions shape the record?

Well, it’s not actually my first album as a band at all - I’ve been recording with bands for many years! But it’s the first one I decided to release under the band moniker that I’ve used for a while now, of Rachael Sage & The Sequins, yes! These players on the record are musicians with whom I’ve shared stages and recorded for a long time, and we’ve developed into a very tight-knit collective of friends and collaborators. Being on the verge of 30 years of releasing music through my label MPress (we’ll be celebrating that anniversary next year!), and giving the albums’ themes, it just felt like the perfect opportunity to really give these beautiful musicians their “flowers”, so to speak. Every playing on this record is someone I respect, admire and cherish - and we have definitely evolved into a kind of family, so I feel a lot of gratitude and inspiration directly from that chemistry, within ongoing adventures of playing and recording with The Sequins! I’m sure I’ll make albums again under my name as solo projects - but the fact is that this particular ensemble has a specific, uniquely dynamic sound and vibe, and I hope to also play more festivals and venues large enough to include more band members so hopefully I’m also manifesting that!

From the vintage, gentle pop of ‘Just Enough’ to ‘The Best Version,’ there’s a lot of lyricism on accepting yourself amidst a time that demands a lot from us. Why is this theme in particular important to both your writing process and releasing this album?

As someone who has often been defined as a perfectionist by others and who also faces challenges with people-pleasing, by nature I am often looking in the wrong direction for my sense of self-esteem. The older I’ve gotten, and also now having been a cancer survivor / thriver for several years, the less I worry about perceptions of others but it’s still a challenge and that work is never done. Especially as a member of the LGBTQ+ community as well as a woman in general, there is so much pressure to aspire to unrealistic standards not only physically but in other ways as well; it can become paralyzing trying to function authentically on social media when there are so many “arm chair critics” so to speak…so certainly the themes of this album created an opportunity to promote the concepts of self-love and self-acceptance as the root of how we can walk more boldly and powerfully in the wider world, and spread that light and joy to others as a result!

Fear is a reasonable response to any kind of trauma and duress but nonetheless, we must look internally for core strength and self-belief, before we can lift each other up and for whatever reason I seem to have evolved into a kind of self-confidence cheer-leader, through a good portion of these songs! I suppose it’s a bit of a full-circle as I first started writing to counter the bullying I experienced as a kid…but now it’s my turn to encourage and hopefully, make a difference to others going through it, so to speak. Thank goodness for music and the arts as a whole - it really does help get us through, doesn’t it?

There’s also a focus on uplifting the LGBTQ+ community. As a LGBTQ+ artist yourself, you recently were selected as the first official ambassador for UK charity Rainbow Mind. What drew you to work with this charity and their incredible work?

When Rainbow Mind approached me to be an official artist ambassador I was of course very touched and honored! I’ve long been focused on mental wellness through a variety of other charities - but once I took a deeper look at what they do and how they provide safe, encouraging and supportive spaces and services to the LGBTQ+ community in the UK, it was a no-brainer to do whatever I can to support!

How does the charity’s work aligned with your own aims as an artist and the messages of ‘Canopy?’

It all boils down to feeling safe, understood and heard really. The fact that the counselors and staff are all also members of the community is a unique and adds another layer of recognition and the sense that you’re confiding to someone who very likely has been through the same or similar experiences and emotions. I really love that - and as an artist I do understand that representation truly matters. There have been artists and creative people I’ve met along my journey who reflected facets my own story in some way and it was empowering and inspiring. “Canopy” being about safety, empathy and inclusivity, it’s just been a very natural fit! The people who run it are absolutely wonderful - I met them the other night at our London show - and we’ve already collaborated on a benefit T-shirt design, that will be unveiled in 2026! 

It’s been one defining year for you: from touring across the UK to supporting the likes of Rebecca Ferguson. What has been a personal highlight, or what are you most proud of?

Yes it has been a very busy and exciting year but also an exhausting one - ha! I’ve been solidly on tour the last 7 months, since I released a single every month starting in May! I would say the biggest personal highlight for me was performing for the third time at Union Chapel, last month with Toyah! I absolutely loved her performance and her stage presence is off the chart infectious - so that coupled with the excitement of playing there for the first time with my violinist Sarah Jean was pretty fantastic. The acoustics there are so beautiful and the audience was thankfully very receptive!

Touring can be quite the adventure: do you have any standout memories or funny anecdotes to share?

Yes in fact I do! One of our new friends from The Overtones offered us tickets to see the West End production “Emerald Storm” which is a celebration of Irish step dancing and tap dance. It was fabulous! At the end they invited members of the audience up for a “tap jam” and even though I only ever did ballet I figured why not jump up on stage and give it a go. They gave me a count of 8 and I made up a little still tap dance on the fly with a room full of very supportive audience members, and I suppose now I can say I’ve made my West End debut, ha! I posted the video on my Instagram and it’s pretty ridiculous but hey, we had a good laugh - and it also inspired me to finally take some tap lessons when my schedule permits!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7EedWEoxpzbiPNkqkDp3Vw?si=wZjRiP7_R-OMfWm45yn-SA