The breaking point is nothing but a glimmer of faint light way out on the horizon behind Kristen Ford. On her newest album, Pinto, the queer, biracial, L.A. songwriter blasts way beyond the point of caution and unveils a wild landscape of visceral emotion.
Ford’s world is one of the deepest feelings: whether fuming at queer repression, falling head over heels in love, or learning to finally and wholeheartedly practice true self-acceptance. Pinto is a place where she can be candid enough to openly share her losses while being mindful enough to acknowledge her wins. In revealing both her scars and her successes, Ford raises a spirited cry that invites the listener to boldly embrace themselves, to take up space, and to loudly state that “enough is enough”. The lessons that Ford explores on Pinto are those learned the hard way: from helplessly watching the state-sanctioned suppression of queer rights in the US, through finding new love after a gut-wrenching divorce, and from the daily microaggressions that come with being sold a patriarchal expectation of ‘womanliness’. With a series of acclaimed releases under her belt, no one could accuse this veteran songwriter of lacking poetic nuance, but it is hard to ignore the raw and undiluted messages that are contained within Pinto. “You can’t control me, my pride or my joy, I don’t owe you a damn thing, if I’m a girl or a boy” she rages in her honeyed-husky vocals on “Wild Heart”. Elsewhere, she sneers “Raise your glass to the mighty Mississippi, and God bless a Southern man, how quickly you forget my great great great grandmother, she died picking cotton on stolen land” on “White Man’s Dream.” Pinto is undoubtedly Ford’s most political, most pointed, and most energizing outing yet.
Singer-songwriter, producer and poet Rachael Sage has released over 20 albums and EPs of empowered alt-folk-pop on her own label MPress Records since first bursting onto the music scene via Lilith Fair. An outspoken activist on behalf of many causes including LGBTQ+ rights, anti-gun violence and women's health issues, Sage is a self-described cancer thriver with multiple top-charting singles, including her hopeful anthems "Blue Sky Days" and "Bravery On Fire" and her feminist anthem "Sistersong". A 6-time Independent Music Award Winner and John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize recipient, Rachael has shared stages with an eclectic list of artists including Ani DiFranco, Rufus Wainwright, A Great Big World, Beth Hart and Shawn Colvin. Her music has been described by PopMatters as "a hopeful message beneath the undertow of visceral struggle we have collectively experienced over the last few years". Rachael will be sharing songs from her forthcoming album Canopy, out this October on MPress/Virgin/Universal.For more information, visit rachaelsage.com.
"one of the most compelling and creative singers and songwriters of the modern era" – American Songwriter
"an icon of the indie music scene, a champion within the LGBTQ community, and an outspoken advocate for social justice and environmentalism" – Pop Magazine