Songwriters in the Raw w/ Rachael Sage, Katie Dahl, and Jessica Smucker
Run Time: 140 min.
~ Sunday April 30, 2023 ~ Doors @ 6:30PM, Showtime @ 7:00PM ~ $25 Advance/$28 Day-of ~
Songwriters in the Raw
Rachael Sage
“Theatrical, expressive and blessed with perfect comedic timing, Sage is the kind of performer you can’t take your eyes off.” — Stereo Embers
“The Carole King of her generation” — Blurt Magazine
“Her keen ironic sense of humor and quirky sense of the profound is what makes her special as a songwriter“ — Billboard.com
A soulful vocalist and innovative multi-instrumentalist, NYC singer/songwriter and producer Rachael Sage has earned a loyal following for her dynamic piano playing, delicate guitar work, and improvisational audience interaction.
Sage has shared stages with Beth Hart, Howard Jones, A Great Big World, Judy Collins, Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, Jamie Cullum, The Animals and Ani DiFranco. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and received numerous songwriting awards including The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (Grand Prize) and six Independent Music Awards. Her songs have appeared on MTV, HBO, and the “Fame” soundtrack, among others.
Sage’s 2020 album Character yielded the Billboard-charting single “Blue Sky Days”; her side project Poetica, an adventurous fusion of poetry with jazz, Americana, and classical musical elements in the vein of Leonard Cohen and Laurie Anderson, debuted in October 2021. Her latest single, “Revelation Ground” – with an accompanying stop-motion video by acclaimed singer/songwriter/animator Antje Duvekot – is out now on MPress/Universal/Virgin. A new full-length album, The Other Side is due in 2023.
Video: https://youtu.be/88qxP9zz_Vw
Website: http://rachaelsage.com
Katie Dahl
Katie Dahl is a songwriter and playwright whose work is as expansive as Lake Michigan and as deeply rooted as its rocky coastal bluffs. A small-town celebrity on the Wisconsin peninsula where her family has lived for 175 years, she is now a radio-charting folk artist who tours around the world. Clear-eyed and tough-minded, fresh and funny, Katie “delivers razor-sharp lyrics with a hearty, soulful voice” (American Songwriter).
Katie’s four albums of original songs showcase her creamy alto and trademark wit, as well as her unflinching authenticity. Her recent work finds her exploring more vulnerable territory than ever before, from anxiety to body image to the challenges of growing up queer in an evangelical church. Richly steeped in the American songwriting tradition, Katie navigates the muddy waters between the personal, public, and political with tenderness and dexterity.
Katie is currently working with renowned producer Julie Wolf on a new album slated for release in early 2023. Her previous album, Wildwood, was produced by JT Nero (Birds of Chicago) and features Allison Russell; that record’s “Worry My Friend” hit #6 on the folk radio charts in 2019. Her song “Crowns” spent a month at #1 on the charts in 2015.
Katie was a college freshman in Minnesota when she slipped on a patch of sidewalk ice and broke her wrist. Suddenly unable to play the oboe in her college orchestra, Katie used her newfound free time to learn guitar, teaching herself chord shapes as she strummed the strings with her stiff right hand. Nine years later, that icy day has proven to be a blessing in disguise, leading Katie into a life of work that Dar Williams calls “the very best kind of songwriting.”
Video: https://youtu.be/q3hXrZ-4ccI
Website: https://katiedahlmusic.com
Jessica Smucker
“Jessica Smucker is an original; a real artist with a cohesive message, a drop-dead gorgeous voice that is all her own. Her background in poetry gives her lyrics a specificity and depth. Each time I listen to ‘When I Was the Weather’ I hear something new, the way I do when I listen to Joni Mitchell or Bob Dylan. She is that good.” – Nerissa Nields, singer/songwriter (The Nields)
“Sharp, cogent lyrics with a stealth profundity that sneaks up on you after you listen and the songs are marinating in your memory.” – John Hammel, Homegrown RadioNJ
Jessica Smucker believes that the best way to change the world is to channel our pain into connection. Her songs have a way of reaching deeply into people’s souls and inviting the kind of reflection that feels both reassuring and unsettling. Wrapped in catchy melodies, her lyrics appear simple and relatable on the surface, but each listen will uncover more hidden pockets of nuance. She’s the kind of writer and performer who can lull a noisy room into a hush with a single line.
A Lancaster, PA native, Jessica was raised in the Mennonite faith tradition by a family full of storytellers, activists, adventurers, and pranksters. She has toured nationwide, and performs regularly throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. having shared bills with a range of notable artists including Cheryl Wheeler, Bill Staines, Heather Maloney, Meghan Trainor, Gangstagrass and the Stray Birds.
Jessica has won or placed in national songwriting contests including SolarFest’s Singer/Songwriter Showcase Competition, the Connecticut Folk Festival Song Competition, and the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Her discography spans from 2008-2020 and includes two EPs and three full-length albums. Between the summers of 2021-2022 she released five more singles, including synth-pop anthems “Dinosaurs,” “Rose of Jericho,” and “Phoenix,” and piano ballads “Stones to Throw” and “War of Attrition.” Her fourth studio album, After the Meteor, is planned for release later this year.
In her life beyond music, Jessica is a published poet and essayist, a social justice warrior, a freakishly good Scrabble player, and mother to two of the smartest people she’s ever met in real life!
video: https://youtu.be/ZH12Fy4GzrU
website: https://jessicasmucker.com
