Premiere: Rachael Sage & The Sequins 'Underneath (Acoustic)': A Song That Refuses To Look Away
By Stevie Connor | The Sound Cafe Journal
An evocative acoustic reimagining of a song written in response to mass shootings in America, featuring guest vocals from Cassandra Kubinski.
The Sound Café Journal — Premiere
Some songs ask us to remember. Others ask us to listen a little more closely to what is happening around us. Rachael Sage’s “Underneath” belongs to the latter, a song shaped by the continuing tragedy of mass school shootings in America and the questions that follow in their wake.
Now, with the release of “Underneath (Acoustic)”, Rachael Sage & The Sequins return to that deeply personal and socially conscious composition, bringing a fresh acoustic arrangement and the guest vocals of award-winning singer-songwriter Cassandra Kubinski.
The recording arrives ahead of the forthcoming album, Under My Canopy, due this fall via ILS/Virgin/Universal. Featuring acoustic guitar, strings, upright bass, accordion, and the combined voices of Sage and Kubinski, it offers a more intimate setting for a song that continues to carry an important message.
At its heart, “Underneath” is about the human cost of gun violence, the need for meaningful change, and the hope that music can help keep these conversations alive.
Sage writes:
“I wonder if the guns that guard us / Will ever cease to cause us grief / Or if the souls that shine like stardust / Will ever lift us out from underneath.”
Rachael Sage & The Sequins: A Song With Something To Say
The subject matter behind “Underneath” is one that has become tragically familiar to audiences in America and beyond. Mass school shootings have left communities grieving, families searching for answers, and a continuing debate about gun control that remains deeply divided.
For Rachael Sage, the song was written in response to one of the many mass school shootings that have taken place in America. In the years since, the circumstances that inspired it have been repeated over and over, giving the composition a painful relevance that is creator could hardly have wished for.
Sage explains:
“‘Underneath’ was written in response to one of innumerable mass school shootings in America. Sadly, the all-too-true storyline that informed this song has been repeated over and over in the years since, but I’m always hopeful that through raising awareness and support for organizations like Everytown, Sandy Hook Promise and coalitions such as Artists For Action, we can positively impact legislation and continue to bring the human side of this vital issue to the mainstream spotlight.”
That final thought is important. The song is not simply a reflection on tragedy, but part of a wider belief that awareness, advocacy, and the human stories behind the statistics can still make a difference.
The organisations Sage mentions, Everytown, Sandy Hook Promise, and Artists For Action, represent different aspects of that ongoing work. Her support for them reflects a desire to see music contribute to conversations that extend beyond the stage and into the wider community.
“Underneath” asks difficult questions, but it does so through the language of songwriting rather than political argument. The result is a piece that invites the listener to consider what protection means, what grief leaves behind, and whether a different future remains possible.
The Acoustic Setting
Produced by Rachael Sage alongside Grammy® nominee Mikhail Pivovarov, “Underneath (Acoustic)” brings together an ensemble of musicians whose individual contributions give the recording its distinctive character.
Sage performs on acoustic guitar and shares lead and background vocals with Cassandra Kubinski. The Sequins feature violinist Kelly Halloran, known for her work with Lainey Wilson, and cellist Dave Eggar, whose credits include Paul Simon. Kerry Brooks contributes upright bass, while Rob Curto adds accordion.
It is a thoughtful collection of instrumentation for a song of this nature. Acoustic music has a way of bringing the listener closer to the performance, allowing the voice and the words to take their rightful place at the centre.
The guitar provides the foundation, while the violin and cello offer additional layers of warmth and emotional depth. The upright bass brings a sense of grounding, and the accordion adds another colour to the arrangement. Together, the musicians create a setting that sits comfortably between folk, Americana, and Sage’s alt-folk-pop sensibilities.
The guest vocals from Cassandra Kubinski are equally significant. Rather than presenting the song as a solitary statement, the recording brings two voices together, creating a sense of shared expression. In a song concerned with collective grief and the need for change, that musical partnership feels entirely appropriate.
Kubinski is an award-winning singer-songwriter who has collaborated with 10,000 Maniacs. Like Sage, she has also had more than a dozen songs featured on the hit television show Dance Moms. Their shared experience in songwriting and performance provides a natural foundation for this collaboration.
From Canopy to Under My Canopy
The forthcoming album, Under My Canopy, revisits and reinvents the diverse collection of songs from Sage’s previously lauded studio album, Canopy.
The project brings fresh acoustic instrumentation and imaginative new arrangements to material that already carries its own history. Rather than simply reproducing the earlier recordings, Sage and The Sequins give these songs another opportunity to reach listeners through new interpretations.
The album is described as a collection of songs that feel like a refuge, woven from resilience, longing, and the determination to find light in the darkest places.
Those themes are reflected in “Underneath (Acoustic),” although this is not a song that attempts to offer easy comfort. Its emotional centre is rooted in sorrow, uncertainty, and a desire for change. The hope comes not from ignoring the darkness, but from refusing to accept that it must remain the final word.
Confidently spanning Americana, pop, and neo-folk, Under My Canopy promises a record that is both musically diverse and thematically connected. Its focus on purposeful and joyful living, inclusiveness, equality, and non-violence gives the album a sense of direction beyond the individual songs.
Reflective, mournful yet optimistic, it is described as one of Sage’s most soulful and thought-provoking works yet.
For those discovering the music through “Underneath (Acoustic),” the forthcoming album offers an opportunity to hear how this particular song sits within a wider body of work concerned with the human experience.
A Career Shaped by Creative Independence
Rachael Sage’s career has been defined by a passion for storytelling and an innovative sense of creativity.
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.
Her work has brought her onto stages alongside musicians such as Rufus Wainwright, Ani DiFranco, and Judy Collins, with whom she also recorded a critically acclaimed duet.
Alongside songwriting and performance, Sage is a visual artist and former ballet dancer who performed with the New York City Ballet. She has also described herself as a “cancer thriver” and has been involved in philanthropic advocacy for a range of causes, including Foundation For Women’s Cancer, WHY Hunger, American Refugee Committee, National Network For Youth, Rainbow Mind, and The Trevor Project.
These elements of her life sit alongside the music rather than defining it, but they help to explain an artist whose creative work continues to engage with questions of identity, resilience, compassion, and the world in which we live.
“Underneath (Acoustic)” is another part of that ongoing journey.
The Importance of Keeping the Human Story Alive
In an age when difficult news can arrive on a phone screen and disappear beneath the next story within minutes, the challenge for any socially conscious song is to remain more than a passing reference.
Rachael Sage’s composition was written in response to a specific tragedy, but the continuing repetition of mass school shootings has given it a broader and more painful relevance. The song’s questions remain unanswered, and that is precisely why they continue to matter.
The line between music and activism has always been an interesting one. Some artists write directly about political events, while others choose to explore the emotions and experiences that surround them. “Underneath” occupies a space where the personal and the public meet.
It does not attempt to speak for every person affected by gun violence. Instead, it reflects on grief, uncertainty, and the hope that something might change.
Sage’s support for organisations such as Everytown and Sandy Hook Promise reinforces that connection between the song and the wider issue. Her belief in raising awareness and bringing the human side of gun violence into the mainstream conversation is central to the message.
For listeners, the recording offers an opportunity to engage with that message through music, and perhaps to consider what meaningful action might look like beyond the listening experience.
The Sequins Take The Music On The Road
With Under My Canopy due this fall, Rachael Sage & The Sequins will be bringing their music to audiences in the United States and United Kingdom.
The schedule includes appearances at AmericanaFest in Nashville, the O+ Festival in Kingston, New York, and a run of UK dates taking in London, Bath, Southampton, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Milton Keynes.
For those discovering Sage’s work through “Underneath (Acoustic),” the live dates provide an opportunity to experience the music in a different setting, where the acoustic arrangements and vocal performances can take on another dimension.
Tour Dates
September 17, 2026 — Cellovision @ AmericanaFest — East Nashville, Tennessee
September 18, 2026 — AmericanaFest: East Coast Social Club @ The Bowery Vault — Nashville, Tennessee
October 11, 2026 — O+ Festival @ Rough Draft — Kingston, New York
UK Dates with Emma Stevens
October 22, 2026 — The Bedford — Balham, London, UK
October 23, 2026 — Chapel Arts Centre — Bath, UK
October 25, 2026 — Heartbreakers — Southampton, UK
October 28, 2026 — The Greystones — Sheffield, UK
October 29, 2026 — Sneaky Pete’s — Edinburgh, UK
October 30, 2026 — The Castle Hotel — Manchester, UK
October 31, 2026 — The Stables — Milton Keynes, UK
A Song That Asks Us To Listen
“Underneath (Acoustic)” arrives with a difficult subject at its centre, but it is not a recording defined solely by sadness.
The acoustic arrangement, the combined vocals of Rachael Sage and Cassandra Kubinski, and the contributions of The Sequins give the song a warmth that allows its message to breathe. It is a recording that understands the importance of emotional connection without losing sight of the issue that brought it into being.
For Sage, the song remains part of a continuing effort to raise awareness around gun violence and support the work of organisations seeking meaningful change. For the listener, it offers a moment to consider the questions contained within its lyrics.
What does it mean to be protected? Can grief become a catalyst for change? And how do we continue to find hope when the same tragedies return?
The answers are not found in the song, but the questions remain.
As Under My Canopy approaches, “Underneath (Acoustic)” provides an evocative introduction to a record that promises to explore resilience, longing, and the determination to find light in difficult places.
It is a song that refuses to look away.
The Sound Cafe Journal
Where the story behind the music matters.
Listen and discover more
Rachael Sage & The Sequins Official website
Cassandra Kubinski Official website
