Rachael Sage

For Rachael Sage, optimism isn't about ignoring the difficult things in life. It's about finding a way through them. The New York singer-songwriter, producer, activist and founder of MPress Records has spent a career turning vulnerability, uncertainty and social injustice into music that offers something on the other side: connection, comfort and hope. Now, as she prepares to release Under My Canopy, an intimate acoustic reimagining of her 2025 album Canopy, Sage is once again creating a space for listeners to feel seen.

The forthcoming record moves through an extraordinary emotional landscape, touching on queer identity, grief, violence, self-acceptance, resilience and the simple but powerful need to belong. Alongside original material, Sage also revisits Buddy Holly's "Everyday", a song that has been part of her life since childhood and which she describes as a call to be present and "awake to love". Proceeds from the accompanying maxi-single will be donated to the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation.

For Sage, music has always been more than a creative outlet. Having experienced cancer, childhood bullying, loss and the pressures of a life spent performing and creating, she has found in songwriting a way to process what can sometimes feel impossible to articulate—and, hopefully, help others feel a little less alone in the process.

We spoke with Rachael about the healing power of music, finding optimism through adversity, the importance of making people feel seen, her lifelong connection to Buddy Holly, and why she believes that even in difficult times, choosing love, community and hope can be an act of resistance.

Hi Rachael, how’s your week been?

I've been having a pretty good summer so far – plenty of shows and every day you wake up is a gift, so no complaints from me!

 

You’ve called Buddy Holly’s ‘Everyday’ your favourite pop song and even said it inspired you to become a songwriter. What was it about that song that made such a lasting impression on you?

I first heard the song via my dear Dad, who played all his "oldies" for me from the time I was very young. At some point he took me to see "The Buddy Holly Story" when I was a kid, which just wrecked me. To learn of this incredible artist and performer who died so tragically, so young, and then to realize also just how much more music he would have created and shared had he lived longer – well, it was a kind of loss of innocence I suppose. But even more, I was taken by the love story depicted in the film, and by how it informed his music. To me, the song is equal parts romantic and also a call to be present, every single day, and awake to love, wherever one may find it!

You mention that singing this song requires you to exist in "pure love" for the duration of the performance. That's a beautiful way of describing it, can you tell us more about what you mean?

Well, part of a singer-songwriter's job is to inhabit the song in a way that feels honest, connected and as though one is considering the emotions in it for the first time - similar to how actors perform. I think when you're singing someone else's lyrics and melody it's even more of a call to be entirely in the moment, to forget about whatever else you may actually be feeling that counters the emotion described in the song, and to just submit to the energy that the writer channeled while also giving it your own "stamp". There's something about repeating those three syllables, "Ev-ry-day" multiple times and the way the instruments echo that melody, that is so essential and so inevitable-sounding. Like "Jingle Bells" or "She Loves Me"...just the only way those words and music could be arranged to express the love captured by the song!

As a songwriter yourself, what do you think makes a song truly timeless?

I think if a song can be sung or reinterpreted somehow by a wide variety of stylized performers, and still maintain its integrity – the emotional through line of the lyric, the catchiness or just the sheer beauty of the melody – then it may just be timeless. Timeless is akin to "classic", and most of the music I listen to today is stuff I'd consider to be timeless rather than "groundbreaking" I suppose. I know that has more to do with the role that music plays in my life, than anything else. I'm drawn to music, art and also theatre and film that feels like it contains resonant themes for any age. I was a Shakespearean actor for most of my teens and 20's so maybe that's part of it! Love is as human and ancient as anything we could sing about, so in that sense it feels like we're connecting not only to ourselves but to our ancestors and even to people from the future, when we can express it powerfully, through voice and song.

You're donating proceeds from the ‘Everyday’ maxi-single to the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. How important is it for your music to also give something back?

I think that once you recognize the interconnectedness of all of us – of all of our energy, thoughts and actions impact one another – it becomes a pure privilege and a joy to be able to combine what folks call "giving back" via your own creativel undertakings. Really, we often feel the most empowered and inspired when we're helping one another and it's important to combine a sense of purpose with helping others as often as possible. This is something I'm always learning more about and trying to expand, but it becomes more clarified all the time; each one of us could be the other person so easily, and whether it's via artistic encouragement, financial resources, or some other type of support, I'm always going to be looking for ways I can contribute. I certainly didn't get to where I am by myself, and gratitude and appreciation seem to amplify the enjoyment of creating music , across the board! I'm so glad it worked out, and since I've performed several times at The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation's SXSW events, it's especially gratifying on a personal level.

You said you hope the song helps even one person feel "more seen, and less alone." Do you think that's one of music’s greatest gifts?

I'm thinking today about Glen Hansard, the wonderful Irish singer-songwriter and actor we've recently lost. He was my very favorite songwriter in our generation and one of his greatest gifts was not only writing gorgeous and thought-provoking music, but also making it feel when he performed like he was doing it just for you. So many people felt as tough they knew him, all around the world and especially in Ireland...and it was the songs. The songs contained stories, emotions and humanity that made all of us feel less alone. So yes, I absolutely do think that's one of music's greatest gifts! It's basically why I do what I do: to feel less alone, and to hopefully help others feel less alone as well. I recognized music's power to do this from a very young age, both as a ballet dancer and also just a kid who was badly bullied, but who derived a very distinct sense of hope and recognition from songs of all genres.

Your work often transforms difficult emotions into something hopeful. Where does that optimism come from?

I don't think I was a naturally optimistic person; my optimism feels largely "earned", or like it evolved from force of will. I grew up as a ballet dancer and took it to a pretty high level, ending up at The School Of American Ballet. The entire journey from student to professional – which I was, albeit briefly – was one that taught me that a degree of pain is not only necessary, but something that one needed to learn to transcend, in order to become strong, capable and expressive in a way that could uplift and inspire others. I also engaged with a lot of "difficult people" growing up – dance and acting conservatory teachers as well as childhood bullies – but eventually I was always able to find something redemptive in those challenges that gave me hope...which I did my best to cultivate more and more. Music has been something that helped me do this in a very concrete ways and through its creation I've I derived enormous optimism, because it gathers people together in community in a way nothing else does. 

From playing sort of bleak, confessional material in college coffee-houses, to putting ill-fated bands together in NYC in my 20's, to now being a full-time touring and recording artist, musical optimism has been a kind of fuel for me to just keep going, and as the Buddhists would say, to "turn poison into medicine". 

I do carry around a lot of sadness, no question. It's deep in there – whether it be aspects of my cancer experience and ensuing physical changes, or friends and family I've lost to mental or physical illness, to the general turmoil of the world and violence at large...these things make me deeply sad and concerned. But I never lose hope entirely and as my good friend and mentor Howard Jones would sing, "Thing Can Only Get Better"; I do feel that I've witnessed my share of miracles born of resilience and faith, and I'm sure that's part of why I'm able to remain largely optimistic.

Your new album explores resilience, longing and hope all at once. Were there particular experiences that shaped this collection of songs?

This grouping of songs is less about my personal experience, and more a curation of songs that felt "needed" at this time. For instance, "Nexus" about nonbinary teen Nex Benedict – whose tragic death after being violently bullied captured national attention - seemed like a story that needed to be amplified right now, with so much hate on the rise against the LGBTQ+ community and specifically trans people. I also included a song about gun violence called "Underneath" that I'd written a few years back and felt all too timely, still. There are two songs I wrote as a very young person that reflected formative experiences – "Colorized World" about youthful love – and "Kill The Clock" about teenaged disillusionment growing up around '80's materialism and greed. But there are also songs like "Just Enough" and "Live It Up" that focus on self-acceptance and celebrate connection in a way that ties into the album title and theme. "Belong To You" is a devotional gospel ballad that expresses loyalty and reverence for human connection, whether romantic or platonic. As a whole, it's a collection that hopefully makes the listener feel safe, comforted, accepted and confident.

You describe the record as being rooted in inclusivity, equality and non-violence. Why do you think those values feel especially important to express through music right now?

These are scary and overwhelming times for many. Whether it's the repeated horrors of war, of political oppression, the dismantling of women's and LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, racism, mass shootings and on and on. Hard-won rights and opportunities for people of all kinds to be exactly who they are, without shame and repression have been continually under attack, and if we don't reflect and speak about these things in a way that promotes healing somehow, it will get much worse before it gets better. So it's important, yes - but it's also important to embrace joy, to understand that friendship and love of any kind are the greatest gifts, and that we need to protect, help and uplift each other however we're equipped to do so...that's really the point of so much of this life, isn't it?

Throughout your career you've written songs that encourage compassion, self-acceptance and connection. Has songwriting always been a form of emotional processing for you?

I first started writing songs as a way to express what I couldn't say, more directly. I think many artists begin this way...there's a fantasy element to it but you're basically veiling your real life in metaphor; even as a child I did this to some degree. Now, I think of song-writing is a conduit for connection, period. I try not to limit the types of songs I attempt to write - the world, and artistry as a way of navigating it, is too wide and if I want to write a certain type of song just as a personal challenge or because someone asks me to or because I want to honor another person's life or history, I will just go for it. There's a story in viirtually everything if you squint the right way, and I think I've barely scratched the surface of the craft, so it's always exciting to me!

https://open.spotify.com/album/2S9XaB6jSOeGgy19gQBKOE?si=l7zu7-CCRfyGrg2FrTz2ZA