The NYC singer-songwriter discusses resilience, queer identity, grief, and the restorative power of music ahead of Under My Canopy.
Throughout her career, New York-based musician, producer, activist, and MPress Records founder Rachael Sage has consistently turned fragility, sorrow, societal inequity, and personal doubt into songs that provide audiences with something beyond the struggle: community, solace, and optimism. Now, as she gets ready to launch Under My Canopy—a stripped-down acoustic reinterpretation of her highly praised 2025 record Canopy—Sage is crafting what she calls an “intimate musical refuge” built on resilience, inclusion, and purposeful living.
Dropping on 9th October via MPress/Virgin/Universal, Under My Canopy features fresh acoustic arrangements and an eclectic lineup of guest musicians, reimagining tracks that delve into queer identity, mourning, violence, self-acceptance, belonging, and the resolve to discover brightness amid hardship.
In a recent discussion with HATC, Sage reflects on the personal stories that shaped the album and the guiding principles that have carried her through a multifaceted career in music, dance, theater, and advocacy. “I don't think I was a naturally optimistic person,” Sage admits. “My optimism feels largely ‘earned’, or like it evolved from force of will.”
This outlook has been forged through experiences including rigorous ballet training, childhood bullying, cancer, loss, and the realities of life as a working artist. Rather than letting those events dictate her worldview, Sage says she has consistently sought something redemptive within them.
“Music has been something that helped me do this in a very concrete way,” she explains. “Through its creation I've derived enormous optimism, because it gathers people together in community in a way nothing else does.” That spirit of community is central to Under My Canopy. Instead of being merely a personal reflection, Sage views the album as a selection of songs that feel “needed” in the present moment.
“Nexus (Acoustic),” for instance, tackles the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died after experiencing severe bullying, while “Underneath (Acoustic)” confronts gun violence in the United States. Elsewhere, “Just Enough” and “Live It Up” examine self-acceptance and joyful connection, and “Belong To You” celebrates human devotion and loyalty.
The record’s emotional depth is matched by its musical closeness, flowing through Americana, pop, neo-folk, acoustic ballads, and more expansive textures. Sage and her longtime band The Sequins are joined by an impressive group of musicians, including Kelly Halloran, Andy Mac, Trina Hamlin, Dave Eggar, Ward Williams, Christie Lenée, Ben Butler, James Mastro, Jack Petruzzelli, Doug Yowell, Rob Curto, and David Krakauer, among others.
Sage’s long-awaited rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” touches on both romantic love and something broader: a call to stay present and “awake to love” every day. The song has been meaningful to Sage since childhood, after her father introduced her to Holly’s music.
“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,” she says. Sage will donate proceeds from the accompanying maxi-single to the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, continuing her ongoing practice of linking music with charitable efforts.
The result is an album that acknowledges darkness but refuses to give in to it. In Sage’s world, compassion, friendship, love, and community are not passive concepts but deliberate choices, and music can be a way for people to make those choices collectively.
Under My Canopy arrives on 9th October via MPress/Virgin/Universal.
Rachael Sage & The Sequins will also tour the UK in October supporting Emma Stevens, with dates including The Bedford in London, Chapel Arts Centre in Bath, Heartbreakers in Southampton, The Greystones in Sheffield, Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh, The Castle Hotel in Manchester and The Stables in Milton Keynes.
A six-time Independent Music Award-winning musician and producer, Sage has performed thousands of shows worldwide and shared stages with artists including Imelda May, Rufus Wainwright, Jamie Cullum, Howard Jones and Judy Collins. She is also a visual artist, former ballet dancer and philanthropic advocate whose charitable work has supported organisations including The Trevor Project, Foundation For Women's Cancer, WHY Hunger and Rainbow Mind.
For more information about Rachael Sage and Under My Canopy, visit MPress Records.
Patrick Welsh
Rising Notes
email us here
