Rachael Sage on Music, Mental Health and Radical Compassion

For nearly three decades, New York alt-pop artist Rachael Sage has been building a career on authenticity, resilience and hope. Now, with her latest album, “Canopy,” and her newly announced role as the first official ambassador for Rainbow Mind, she’s weaving those values into a new chapter that feels both deeply personal and urgently timely.

Rainbow Mind is a UK-based mental health charity that provides peer-led therapy and community support for LGBTQIA+ individuals. It’s a partnership that Sage calls a perfect fit.

“My new album and current tour are focused on themes of inclusivity, safety and compassion,” she says. “As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I loved the idea that they provide mental health services to the community via other LGBTQ+ individuals. I think it epitomizes the idea of safety and shelter that the title track of my album is about, and I have so much respect and appreciation for the work that they’re doing!”

Rainbow Mind’s guiding principle is radical compassion, a phrase Sage admits shouldn’t feel radical at all, but one that resonates powerfully in today’s climate.

“It shouldn’t be ‘radical’ to show compassion ever, in any degree, but this is the world we live in,” she says. “As far as I’m concerned, it means that those of us who continue to believe in equality, acceptance, kindness and empathy as guiding principles need to step it up all the more!”

As she takes on the ambassador role, Sage sees it as an extension of the work she has always tried to do through music. She channels her music and her platform to highlight the quiet acts of resilience that deserve attention.

“I like to think that I understand a lot about what it means to be a cheerleader for people who may be struggling to fully acknowledge their own worth,” she says. “I was badly bullied as a kid and went through my own journey toward self-acceptance after dealing with depression, as well as sexual assault and cancer survivorship.” 

“The silver lining of all of that is that now I get to not only use music as a healing tool but also to have the chance to champion others doing great work to improve our world,” Sage continues. “In a time where so many are tearing down others and putting negative energy and divisiveness into the world, it’s imperative to cast light on ‘the helpers,’ as the saying goes.”

Sage fully acknowledges the growing need for mental health support for the LGBTQIA+ community. “These are some crazy times to navigate for most people just trying to be who they are, live authentically and proudly, but especially LGBTQIA+ individuals who may not be fully understood or accepted by peers or work colleagues, family and the medical community.” 

She understands this on a personal level. Her first bandmate and violinist took his own life because his family rejected him for being gay. 

“Having been raised in the ballet world and surrounded by gay people from well before I even knew I was bi, I found it hard to imagine anyone’s family could be so ignorant and cruel,” she shares. “But, as we know, a high percentage of homeless youth are LGBTQIA+ because they have faced various forms of rejection. That is why it’s all the more crucial to not bear these burdens alone and to be able to confide safely with others who truly do understand.”

Those values flow naturally into her new album, which she’s curated over several years. As the political climate in the U.S. has become ever more divided, Sage says it prompted her to want to provide more uplift and hope.

“We all need to be more resilient just to navigate our world with grace and strength, but we also need to laugh and find joy,” she says. “That’s why my current tour is called ‘Joy = Resistance Tour.’”

At the heart of it all is the same message Sage has carried through her career: you are enough, and you are loved. It’s a message driven home in a song from the album called “The Best Version,” in which she sings, “I love you even though I’ve never met you before.”

“I actually mean it!” Sage says. “Knowing you are loved and that someone believes in you, that you matter and make a difference on this planet as the uniquely gifted and sensitive human you are will hopefully ease some of that struggle.”

Looking ahead, Sage hopes “Canopy” becomes more than a collection of songs. She shares, “Hopefully this is a soundtrack for something bigger than just one record. We can all be a canopy to someone else.”