Songwriter Rachael Sage makes no secret of her scars. Her open attitude in discussing life's myriad frustrations and pains makes her music all the more real and personal: like an old friend lending a sympathetic ear. Tracks like the rootsy 'Delancey Street' discuss the hardships of the struggling artist's life, while new song cycle 'Haunted by You' finds the singer in and out of relationships and heartache.

Along with her band The Sequins, Sage takes her candid personality to the kind of roots jams only a city like New York could produce, and that's the best place to see her live too. See her when she officially releases her latest record on May 19 at Joe's Pub. - Mike Levine, photo by Laura Crosta