She has shared stages with Sarah McLachlan, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals and Ani DiFranco, and was named one of the Top 100 Independent Artists Of The Past 15 Years by Performing Songwriter magazine.[1] Her performances combine musicianship with between-song banter, what The New York Times recently dubbed Sage's "inner Fanny Brice".[2]
She was born in Port Chester, NY and studied drama and ballet, before switching to music. She has released nine albums, as of May 2010, on her own label, MPress Records, and regularly tours both North America and Europe.
Sage is a self-taught pianist, influenced by her parents' Doo-Wop and Beatles records, as well as Broadway cast albums, creating early demos on a 4-track recording system she received as a Bat Mitzvah present. During Junior High school, Sage gained admission to the School of American Ballet. Sage attended Stanford University, earning a degree in Drama. Later, she was in the Actors Studio MFA program. Her performance in their New York Talent Search won Sage a place on the Village Stage of the 1997 Lilith Fair. The word theatrical has been used to describe Sage's sound.[3] Legendary pop producer Phil Ramone said of working with Sage that he was reminded of collaborating with Bob Dylan, and that "She has a very unusual way of treating a pop song. I admire her editorial and musical ability when it comes to crafting a tune."[4]
Most recently, Sage's "Brave Mistake" was nominated for Best Story Song at The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards[5], and Sage herself took home OUTstanding Producer for her song "Hope's Outpost" at The 7th Annual OUTMusic Awards.[6]