{"id":41366,"date":"2023-07-14T09:29:14","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=41366"},"modified":"2023-07-14T09:29:15","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:29:15","slug":"on-stage-extra-rachael-sage-is-focusing-on-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=41366","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Rachael Sage is focusing on performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <em>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18279\" style=\"width: 253px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18279\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18279\" src=\"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rachael-sage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"243\" height=\"300\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18279\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachael Sage<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Rachael Sage is like a modern-day Renaissance woman \u2014 singer-songwriter, ballerina, pianist, poet, record label owner, actress, organist, writer and record producer. Currently, she is focused on being a performer.<\/p>\n<p>She seems to be endlessly touring world-wide and all across America. Fortunately, her schedule has included three local shows in the first half of 2023 \u2013 and no-one is complaining.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, City Winery hosted a concert by\u00a0Sage\u00a0\u2013 a show that was part of a two-week, seven-show tour with\u00a0Annalyse &amp; Ryan. At the end of April, Sage\u00a0did a show &#8212; \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/zoetropolis.com\/special_events\/songwriters-in-the-raw-w-rachael-sage-katie-dahl-and-jessica-smucker\/\">Songwriters in the Raw with Rachael\u00a0Sage, Katie Dahl, and Jessica Smucker<\/a>\u201d &#8212;\u00a0 at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse in Lancaster.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Sage is coming to Delaware County to make her club debut at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jameyshouseofmusic.com\/\">www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) on July 15. She will share the bill with Meghan Cary, one of the top singer\/songwriters in the Delaware Valley.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Sage is coming to Jamey\u2019s\u00a0to celebrate and perform songs from her\u00a0new album,\u00a0\u201cThe Other Side.\u201d She will be joined by\u00a0Kelly\u00a0Halloran on violin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just got back from the U.K.,\u201d said Sage, during a phone interview from New York on Tuesday afternoon. \u201cI was there for a month doing a pre-release tour. I did a show at the Liverpool Philharmonic. It was great. The whole tour was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be touring the record through the end of the year. I\u2019ll be going back to the U.K. in August.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018The Other Side\u2019 will be out in about a week so the countdown has begun. I\u2019ll be releasing it on my label MPress Records on July 21.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of my shows are with my band. At Jamey\u2019s, it\u2019s myself and my violin player Kelly Halloran \u2013 the same as in the U.K. She\u2019s a multi-talented musician who has played with me for a long time. She is so much more than a violinist. She plays with an extra string so it\u2019s like a viola.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhistle Blow,\u201d the first single from \u201cThe Other Side,\u201d was released in April.<\/p>\n<p>Sage\u00a0has released 15 studio albums \u2013 starting with \u201cMorbid Romantic\u201d in 1996. She released her sixth album, \u201cBallads &amp; Burlesque\u201d in 2006 and then has faithfully released a new album every two years (on even years) since then \u2013 until COVID hit. Her two most recent LPs are Myopia\u201d in 2018 and \u201cCharacter\u201d in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started making \u2018The Other Side\u2019 about a year ago,\u201d said Sage. \u201cSome songs were written during the lockdown. I also released \u2018Poetica\u2019 during the lockdown. \u2018Poetica\u2019 is a collaborative album I made with Dave Eggar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cinematic and stylistically expansive,\u00a0\u201cPoetica\u201d is a creatively ambitious musical spoken word project distilling a poetic spirit through text, voice and music in the spirit of Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith and Laurie Anderson. What began as a remote duo collaboration between poet\/vocalist\/producer Sage and\u00a0three-time Grammy nominated\u00a0cellist Dave Eggar eventually evolved into a full-blown spoken word concept album, with musicians contributing from around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>Produced and engineered by Sage herself, \u201cPoetica\u201d aims to create connection and shared experience via the unifying power of words. Adventurous yet familiar in its intimacy, Sage\u2019s voice is perfectly at home in the absence of typical song structure, while her musical arrangements fuse elements of jazz, classical and Appalachian folk with surprising agility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDave Eggar and I took my poetry, and we collaborated on the music,\u201d said Sage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Other Side\u201d returns to the singer\/songwriter structure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI recorded most of it in a home studio in Beacon, New York called The Creek because it overlooks Fishkill Creek,\u201d said Sage. \u201cI also did a lot of it at The Carriage House in Stamford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI recorded the initial sessions with the band. Then, I\u2019d tour and come back to the studio. This went on for a period of six months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I wrote the title track, I knew it should be an album. The song, \u2018The Other Side,\u2019 encapsulated the album\u2019s songs \u2013 being in a challenging restrictive place and being able to transcend it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Sage, \u201c\u201cThis record is more stark than my previous work, and less afraid to look fear in the eye or give fate the finger.\u00a0When I wrote the song\u00a0\u2018The Other Side,\u2019 I was separating from someone I still loved very much, with whom I hoped to maintain a friendship \u2013 but they did not. I had to somehow make peace with that, which of course was painful. It was a watershed moment when I could concede that releasing what wasn\u2019t working \u2013 at the height of a pandemic \u2013 wasn\u2019t failure but rather, positive self-clarity. A family member had just been diagnosed with a serious illness, requiring me to be fully present to help them through it\u2026The world seemed to be burning but the grace of friends, loved ones and a beautiful creative community I found in upstate NY carried me through. The song is essentially a gospel plea for a more forgiving future and for\u00a0peaceful\u00a0liberation, beyond a time of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The album strays from the norm in one way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t record covers much, but this album has 12 originals and 15 covers,\u201d said Sage. \u201cThe covers were \u2018Breathe,\u2019 \u2018Only You\u2019 and \u2018Forgive Me This.\u2019 Maria McKee\u2019s \u2018Breathe\u2019 has always been one of my favorites. I used to play it in coffee houses when I went to Stanford.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sage\u00a0has developed a loyal international following for her dynamic piano playing, delicate guitar work, and improvisational audience interaction. A six-time Independent Music Award winner,\u00a0Sage\u00a0has toured with an eclectic list of artists including Howard Jones, Beth Hart, Ani DiFranco, and Grammy\u00ae winners Shawn Colvin and Judy Collins \u2013 with whom she also recorded a critically-acclaimed duet of Neil Young&#8217;s \u201cHelpless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since founding her own label MPress Records two decades ago, Sage\u00a0has steadily released a slew of vibrant, dynamic albums with poetic lyrics spanning subjects as wide as her inspirations.<\/p>\n<p>Some of Sage\u2019s tour dates a while back were cancelled because she was diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been in remission for five years,\u201d said Sage. \u201cI had endometrial cancer. I eat healthy and exercise and I stay in remission. I think that doing what you love is the best medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In early 2020, Sage released an intimate video for \u201cBravery\u2019s On Fire,\u201d which was the first single off \u201cCharacter.\u201d Directed by longtime collaborator and award-winning filmmaker Tom Moore, the video is an emotional, cinema verit\u00e9 window into her own recovery from cancer. 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the single were targeted to benefit women\u2019s cancer research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, the two institutions where Sage received her treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Now on the other side of treatment and in complete remission, Sage hopes to raise awareness of this disease, which is the most common type of women\u2019s cancer with more than 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States alone and 530,000 women worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharacter,\u201d which was co-produced by Sage and Grammy\u00ae winner Andy Zulla, contains the 12 songs she recorded while recovering from her treatment. Recorded at both Carriage House Studios and her home studio in NYC, \u201cCharacter\u201d features diverse material that reflects on such concepts as gratitude, identity, compassion, authenticity, optimism, and mindfulness.<\/p>\n<p>For this weekend\u2019s show at Jamey\u2019s, Sage will share the bill with Meghan Cary. The two artists share something else. They frequently have their first names misspelled because of an extra letter \u2013 Rach(a)el and Meg(h)an.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeghan is an old friend of mine from the early days in New York,\u201d said Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Cary posted this message on her website &#8212; \u201cYou know I love playing outside &#8211; in the fields of fest, on the porch of the noisy house, at the edge of the vineyard &#8211; BUT just about now, as the world heats up to record temperatures, I&#8217;m looking forward to ducking into the cool dark air of an indoor venue. This Saturday, July 15th, we&#8217;ll be playing our one and\u00a0only indoor show of the season, at the yummy-sounding, great-tasting, cool-vibey, always welcoming,\u00a0Jamey&#8217;s House of Music. And just to make it extra creamy whipped topping on this fabulous summer, we&#8217;re sharing the evening with internationally touring artist, and powerhouse songwriter, Rachael Sage!! If you are in the Philly area (or can get here within a doable drive) this is the show not to miss!!!\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/meghancary.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=005104c669f2fff5806020cbe&amp;id=20d5b74055&amp;e=759395125a\">Advance tickets<\/a>\u00a0are highly recommended.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18280\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18280\" src=\"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/cary.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meghan Cary<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Meghan Cary\u2019s music has been\u00a0hailed as healing, inspiring and infectiously joyful.\u00a0Named\u00a0Billboard\u2019s\u00a0\u201cCritic\u2019s Choice\u201d for her debut EP,\u00a0the stage actress turned folk rocker\u00a0engages listeners with masterful storytelling and anthemic songs. Cary\u00a0found solace in words and music after her fianc\u00e9 unexpectedly passed away &#8212; and turned that passion into a platform empowering others to speak their truth by bravely sharing her own.<\/p>\n<p>A frequent performer at such venerable festivals as Philadelphia Folk Festival, Spring Gulch, Huntington, DelMarVa Folk Festival, and music venues around the country, Cary&#8217;s message of unity and the power of raising our voices together infuses every show, and her song, \u201cSing Louder\u201d, has become an anthem for the music-loving community.<\/p>\n<p>Many people have favorite mantras.\u00a0Cary\u2019s favorite \u2013 and very own \u2013 mantra is \u201cSing Louder\u201d \u2013 and for good reason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSing Louder\u201d is one of her most popular songs. It was the title track an EP \u2013 \u201cSing Louder \u2013 the Festival EP\u201d in 2015. It is also the title of her latest album.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe \u2018Sing Louder\u2019 album came out in November 2017, but I think of it as a 2018 album,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cMy book \u2013 \u2018Sing Louder &#8212; Stories Behind the Songs\u2019 \u2013 is all about the songs that inspired the \u2018Sing Louder\u2019 album \u2013 10 first-person stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cary explained the inspiration for the book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI share a lot of my stories on stage,\u201d said the veteran singer-songwriter. \u201cI do a lot of storytelling in my shows \u2013 but it\u2019s also a concert. My band would go crazy if I talked too much between songs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter shows, people ask me to tell them more about the songs. I\u2019m a firm believer in sharing my stories \u2013 not only for the stories but also to help other people. People come up to me after shows all the time and say things like \u2013 I just lost my mom and didn\u2019t realize that it was still affecting me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was making the record, I said I was going to write a book and let people pre-buy it. That way, I wouldn\u2019t let other things get in the way. I knew I had to write the book and get it finished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere I one story for each song on \u2018Sing Louder.\u2019 It\u2019s pretty straightforward. I think it\u2019s a good read. The book I\u2019m working on now is a companion to my first album \u2018New Shoes\u2019 from 1998. It\u2019s about how I began my music career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cary\u00a0and her band Analog Gypsies produce a sound that is a blend of folk, rock, gypsy jazz and jam band. At the core of the band are\u00a0Cary\u00a0and Farrell. The keyboard and guitar duo produces a big musical footprint with cool grooves and tight vocal harmonies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe song \u2018Sing Louder\u2019 is a fan favorite \u2013 and very uplifting,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cThe key line is \u2013 \u2018if you don\u2019t know the words, sing louder\u2026sing stronger\u2026sing louder, sing stronger for all of the world to hear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recorded the album at Morning Star Studio with producer Glenn Barratt. Glenn\u2019s input on production is amazing. \u00a0We even brought 48 people \u2013 fans and friends \u2013 into the studio to sing on the title track.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cary\u00a0is also a veteran actress who performed in the musical \u201cPump Boys and Dinettes\u201d and, more recently, performed a one-woman play she wrote called \u201cOn the Way to the Waterfall!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This autobiographical play with music\u00a0was originally created as a short piece for E.A.T.\u2019s One-Woman Standing play festival in NYC in 2013 and was developed into a\u00a0full-length play this past summer by Hypothetical Theatre Company. Two years ago,\u00a0Cary\u00a0performed it in the Boulder International Fringe Festival\u00a0and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the audience and the critics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I lived in New York, I used to help this playwright Tina Howe,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cShe heard me playing my music and told me \u2014 you have to write a play. I didn\u2019t know how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The play she was about to write was based on a personal tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>While performing in the musical \u201cPump Boys and Dinettes\u201d years ago,\u00a0Cary\u00a0met and fell in love with Matthew Black, one of the show\u2019s musicians.\u00a0Cary\u00a0performed with Black as his backup singer with occasional solos. The pair became engaged, and things were going great. But Black died suddenly in 1995 and\u00a0Cary\u2019s life path took another unexpected twist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMusic carried me through that time period,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cMatthew and I made music together. When he died, I lost everything I had for the future. Music was something that I could keep. I wanted to keep making music. But I was writing songs with no intention of ever playing them for anyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I thought about the play, I knew had already written the story in songs. I had written music as a way to heal through this traumatic experience. The play is about going through the same thing \u2014 getting knocked off-course and ending up somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When\u00a0Cary\u00a0graduated from Hershey High a few years back, she headed off to Duke University to major in biomedical engineering. But, the path of life goes through many twists and turns and that\u2019s why\u00a0Cary\u00a0now wears a guitar instead of a lab coat. She switched majors at Duke and finished with a bachelor\u2019s degree in drama.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought I wanted to be a biomedical engineer,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cI looked at Cornell, but it was freezing up there, so I chose Duke instead. I was on a pre-med track and then got interested in theater. I finished Duke with a degree in drama with a minor in chemistry. Then, I got my MFA (master\u2019s in fine arts) in acting from Florida State University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized back then that I wanted to perform. When I started, I wanted to do regional theater. I also did Off-Broadway shows and I&#8217;m a charter member of New York&#8217;s Actor&#8217;s Shakespeare Company. I love Shakespeare\u2019s work. I love the way he used words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now,\u00a0Cary\u00a0has established herself as a singer, actress, songwriter, and playwright. She is also the mother of two musical kids who have already participated in making music with their family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing a mom of two kids in school means I inhabit two entirely different worlds in a given week\u2026or day,\u201d said\u00a0Cary. \u201cAnd I was thinking how important it is for me to have both.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise that sometimes trying to figure out the business of music can be pretty anxiety provoking &#8212; you know, how to afford to make records, if and how to sell records, and (most important for me) how to get the music out there so people fall in love and want to connect to and be a part of the music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd, for me, even the creative part of music-making can be less than peaceful at times. I sometimes suffer from writer\u2019s block, lack of inspiration, over self-editing or just plain self-doubt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019ve been blessed \u2013 and challenged &#8212; with this other side of life that balances it all out. When I\u2019m with the kids and just being and doing whatever it is we\u2019re doing together, the drama that can be a part of the DYI musician\u2019s world seems really inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the fact that both of our kids are musical and inspired to make music is really a gift. It means I don\u2019t have to keep the two parts of my life so compartmentalized. Both of them sang on the album.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Video link for\u00a0Meghan\u00a0Cary\u00a0&#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7p56MwK_j3k\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/7p56MwK_j3k<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Video link for Rachael\u00a0Sage \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/85Trb0Pip9s\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/85Trb0Pip9s<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The show, which is scheduled for July 15 at Jamey\u2019s House of Music, will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Tickets are $25.<\/p>\n<p>The show at Jamey\u2019s on July 14 will feature Toby Walker, who is billed as \u201cOne of the finest finger-picking country blues raconteurs in the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Fate is a music fan, Fate was right on the mark arranging the meeting of GRAMMY award-winning bassist\u00a0Ben Williams\u00a0and Broadway star\u00a0Syndee Winters.<\/p>\n<p>The two talented musicians hit it off immediately and have been performing together ever since as the R&amp;B duo\u00a0Butterfly Black.<\/p>\n<p>On July 15, Butterfly Black\u00a0will be making their Philadelphia debut with a show at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citywinery.com\/\">www.citywinery.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe met through a mutual friend in New York,\u201d said Winters, during a phone interview Wednesday from a tour stop in Tyson\u2019s Corner, Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe invited me to come with her to see one of Ben\u2019s shows at the McKittrick Hotel in New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought he was incredible. I knew I wanted to make music with him. We worked together during COVID. We blended really well. We did a lot of virtual concerts and then our first post-COVID show was at the Rockwood in June 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams began playing bass at age 10, was raised in the District of Columbia, and graduated from\u00a0Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from\u00a0Michigan State University\u00a0and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at the\u00a0Juilliard School.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition. The honor included a recording contract with\u00a0Concord Records\u00a0through which he released his debut album,\u00a0\u201cState of Art.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His discography as a leader includes \u201cState of the Art\u201d with Marcus Strickland (saxophone), Matthew Stevens (guitar), Gerald Clayton (piano), Etienne Charles (percussion), and Jamire Williams (drums) in 2011, \u201cComing of Age\u201d with Marcus Strickland (tenor and soprano saxophones), Matthew Stevens (electric guitar), Christian Sands (piano), and John Davis (drums) in 2015, and \u201cI Am a Man\u201d with Kris Bowers (piano, keyboards), David Rosenthal (guitar), Jamire Williams (drums), Justin Brown (drums), Bendji Allonce (percussion), and special guests.<\/p>\n<p>In August 2020, Williams contributed to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Live_stream\">live streamed<\/a>\u00a0recording of the singer\u00a0Bilal&#8217;s EP\u00a0VOYAGE-19, created remotely during the\u00a0COVID-19 lockdowns. It was released the following month with proceeds from its sales going to participating musicians in financial hardship from the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Williams was a member of guitarist\u00a0Pat Metheny\u2019s Unity Band, which won\u00a0Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album\u00a0in\u00a0the 2013 Grammys. He was introduced as one of the \u201c25 for the Future\u201d by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DownBeat\">DownBeat<\/a>\u00a0magazine in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSyndee and I met creatively to write in the fall of 2020 \u2013 sitting at home, trying to be productive,\u201d said Williams. \u201cI was doing a lot of writing. We were both in New York at the time, so we were able to get together. We just wanted to write some music. I love her voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams and Winters bring different musical backgrounds to the collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>Winters is a veteran Broadway stage singer, dancer and actor, who has performed in productions as\u00a0\u201cJesus Christ Superstar,\u201d \u201cHamilton,\u201d \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d \u201cPippin,\u201d \u201cMotown The Musical\u201d and \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Motown can be found in Butterfly Black\u2019s musical DNA along with strains of other R&amp;B music from that era \u2013 especially male-female duos.<\/p>\n<p>The question asked was, \u201cWhatever happened to those old-fashioned male\/female vocal groups?\u201d The answer was supplied by Butterfly Black. They offer a modern-day take on the stylings of acts such as Ashford &amp; Simpson, Ike &amp; Tina Turner, and Marvin Gaye &amp; Tammi Terrell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInitially, I was going to come on as a producer for Syndee,\u201d said Williams. \u201cWe found a way to put our voices together. The synergy just happened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve released four singles so far and we have a six-song EP coming out on August 25.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just prior to that date, Winters will be making a return to the cast of the National Tour of \u201cThe Lion King\u201d \u2013 a tour that will run from August 16-September 10 at the Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy new run with \u2018The Lion King\u2019 starts in Philly on August 15,\u201d said Winters, who grew up in Long Island and Miami. \u201cI was with the show on Broadway most recently in 2019. I also toured with the North American company from 2010-2013.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love the show so much. It\u2019s such a great show. And I always play the role of Nala.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before working on Broadway, Winters was a dancer for the New York Knicks basketball team and a hip-hop and soul singer, who worked with Grandmaster Flash on his 2009 album, \u201cThe Bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fans of Butterfly Black have been able to enjoy Williams and Winters playing together in recent performances on \u201cGood Day New York,\u201d\u00a0NPR \u201cTiny Desk\u201d\u00a0and \u201cGood Morning America.\u201d Now, they have a chance to catch the electrifying duo in a livestage performance at City Winery.<\/p>\n<p>Video link for Butterfly Black &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/28-F7B1GRRo\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/28-F7B1GRRo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The show at City Winery on July 15 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Tickets are $18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Rachael Sage is like a modern-day Renaissance woman \u2014 singer-songwriter, ballerina, pianist, poet, record label owner, actress, organist, writer and record producer. Currently, she is focused on being a performer. She seems to be endlessly touring world-wide and all across America. Fortunately, her schedule has included three local [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,6114,4918],"class_list":["post-41366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-meghan-cary","tag-rachael-sage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41367,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41366\/revisions\/41367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}