Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Rachael Sage & The Sequins’ BELONG TO YOU merges pop, gospel and Americana in a way that brings to mind the soulfulness of Bonnie Raitt’s timeless ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and the wistfulness of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why”. With Sage’s confident piano playing and hushed vocals as its centerpiece, the instantly classic track features gentle acoustic guitar & Hammond organ, along with cellist Dave Eggar (Paul Simon, Fiona Apple). Produced by Sage with Grammy® nominee Mikhail Pivovarov.
About the song, Rachael comments “I wrote ‘Belong To You’ as a gospel ballad and it was really meaningful that so many of The Sequins ended up singing on it, versus just me singing all the harmonies myself. The Hammond organ and harmonica – played by Kevin J. Killen and Will Wilde, respectively – add so much and Dave Eggar’s cello playing grounds the arrangement so beautifully. The devotion and loyalty of our friendships expressed in the lyrics is something I know we all genuinely feel for one another, and in that sense it’s a very emotional song for me to sing. It’s probably the most universal song on the record and it’s been really gratifying to have live listeners at shows come up and share their own interpretations of it. I think it would also work really well in a movie, and as a huge movie-buff, I’ll just put that ‘out there’ in the universe – ha!”
Regarding the video, she says “It was such a wonderful experience working with director Jenny He again on our new video for ‘Belong To You’! We had previously collaborated on ‘Whistle Blow’ and I was so impressed and inspired by her very singular, focused vision, so it just felt like the perfect time to reunite. We knew we wanted to find a concept that reflected the timeless, unconditionally loving sensibility of the song – arguably my first gospel composition – and that ideally included as many types of loving relationships as possible…not only romantic but also parent/child, friendship, owners/pets, and so forth. Her idea to invite everyday people (and their pets!) to join us for a real-life portrait session that captured loving interactions between ‘soulmates’ – and then to also provide them those portraits for posterity – was brilliant and fit the song so well. It was such a joyful and altogether wholesome experience meeting these diverse individuals and capturing it all through Jenny’s unique perspective. Honestly, it was one of the most positive and uplifting days of 2025 for me – it felt hopeful, genuine, and spiritually uplifting. And of course, having members of The Sequins there to be part of my own ‘portrait’ was the perfect way to express my gratitude for simply being able to do what I do, day in and day out, as an artist surrounded by musicians who also happen to be people I deeply love.”
Since founding her own label MPress Records, NYC-based folk-pop artist Rachael Sage has steadily released a slew of vibrant, dynamic albums. She has toured with an eclectic list of artists including Rufus Wainwright, Ani DiFranco, Beth Hart, Howard Jones, and Grammy® winners Shawn Colvin and Judy Collins – with whom she also recorded a critically-acclaimed duet of Neil Young’s “Helpless”. In addition to being a six-time Independent Music Award-winning musician and producer, Sage is also a John Lennon Contest Grand Prize winner who has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, SXSW, and toured globally from Japan to Berlin with her band, The Sequins. Sage is also a visual artist and former ballet dancer who performed with the New York City Ballet. A self-described “cancer thriver”, she is additionally a philanthropic advocate who has raised money for a wide range of causes, including Foundation For Women’s Cancer, WHY Hunger, American Refugee Committee/Alight, and National Network For Youth (NN4Y). Her recent album Character yielded the Billboard-charting single “Blue Sky Days”, and her companion albums, The Other Side and Another Side, are currently out on MPress/Universal/Virgin. Sage’s forthcoming album, Canopy, is due October 2025.
