Singer-songwriter, producer, and LGBTQ+ advocate Rachael Sage returns to Binghamton on Saturday, July 12, for an 8 p.m. performance at Atomic Tom’s, 196 State Street. The stop is part of her ongoing “Joy = Resistance” tour, which she describes as a cross-country effort to use music as a tool for healing, community, and positive change.
“I’ve teamed up on this tour with a wonderful artist named Kristen Ford,” Sage says. “We’re doing a whole slew of dates across the U.S.—East Coast, Midwest, West Coast—and we’re just really trying to use this opportunity to create community, to bring diverse people together, let everyone know that this is a beautiful safe space—LGBTQ+, you know, diverse, any type of person. Whatever you believe, whoever you are, we want to see you there.”
Sage emphasizes the hopeful and inclusive spirit of the tour. “We’re resisting hate, but we’re also trying to build something really positive, beautiful, and mindful,” she says. “Each of us has some really like-minded, forward-moving and hopeful messages in our music, and that’s what we’re eager to share.”
When asked what genre she performs in, Sage embraces a post-genre identity. “Yes!” she laughs. “I love that. I know we’re in sort of a post-genre moment with younger listeners especially—they’re like, ‘I don’t believe in genre.’ So I’m all about that. I love it.”
The small, intimate space of Atomic Tom’s is a perfect fit for Sage’s interactive performance style.
“I am all about that intimate connection with the audience, whether I’m in a small venue or a huge venue,” she explains. “Even at a big festival, I really love to look at those first few rows and try to find individual faces and reactions that we can feed off of. I really do believe that the audience is the other member of the band. We couldn’t do it without them, and every show is different for that reason.”
“If you’re super shy and you don’t want me to directly look at you or talk about you while I’m on stage,” she adds with a grin, “you may want to sit in the back.”
Two new singles—“Canopy” and “Just Enough”—are featured in her current setlist. Both are preview tracks from her forthcoming album Canopy, the first official release under the name “Rachael Sage & The Sequins.”
“‘Canopy’ is very much about inclusivity and safety,” she says. “Being willing to listen to each other and have difficult conversations without getting defensive or aggressive. That fine art of listening to each other and having patience and kindness—it’s ever dwindling, and we’re going to do whatever we can to fan those embers.”
Her other recent single, “Just Enough,” is an energetic anthem of self-worth and authenticity. “It’s really about how each one of us in ourselves is just enough, and we should be proud of that—not shape-shift and try to pander to other people’s perception of who we should be.”
Although the full band—The Sequins—won’t be joining her in Binghamton, Sage confirms that longtime collaborator and violinist Kelly Halloran will be part of the show. “I think I’m doing over 40 shows in the next several months,” she says. “So it’s an exciting time for me, with lots of preparation and rehearsal, and I just can’t wait.”
To stay vocally healthy on such an ambitious tour, Sage follows a strict regimen. “Hydrate, hydrate,” she says, pausing to drink from her water bottle. “I think the key is warming up and warming down. A lot of people forget about the warming down. The killer really isn’t singing, usually—it’s the talking after the gig. You’ve kind of blown your voice and then of course you want to be friendly and accessible and chat with everyone who’s there at your merch table... and before you know it, you’ve been talking for an hour above very loud music in a club.”
A longtime DIY artist and producer, Sage also shared a favorite origin story: how a tape recorder given for her bat mitzvah sparked a lifelong passion.
“I did, in fact, learn how to self-record and eventually do what I now call producing by using a four-track Fostex tape recorder,” she recalls. “When I was about 12 years old, anticipating my bat mitzvah, a bunch of my relatives who knew I was already very much a songwriter took it upon themselves to pull together and get me a four-track. When I first opened it, I didn’t quite understand what it was or how to use it, and I was a bit intimidated... But eventually I started setting up the two microphones that came with it, put them on our living room piano, started bouncing tracks with my voice. And before I knew it, I had a whole kind of Kate Bush style going—with many, many voices being bounced on top of each other. I was having a lot of fun at a very young age.”
Rachael Sage and Kristen Ford perform Saturday, July 12 at 8 p.m. at Atomic Tom’s, 196 State Street in Binghamton. For more on Sage’s music and tour dates, visit rachaelsage.com.