GREGG SHAPIRO | Contributing Writer
GreggShapiro@aol.com
Under My Canopy, Sage
Originally released in 2025 — on vivid orange sherbet vinyl, no less — Canopy, by queer singer/songwriter Rachael Sage & The Sequins, was a plugged-in affair. With the new Under My Canopy (MPress), Sage and her band, often featuring Trina Hamlin and James Mastro (of The Bongos fame), along with musical guests Kristen Ford and Seth Glier and others, revisit 10 of the songs in acoustic renditions.
“Nexus,” Sage’s profound homage to Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary high school student who died following relentless bullying by classmates in Owasso, Okla., loses none of its evocative power in the acoustic arrangement.
Aside from the originals, the album includes a pair of lovely and meaningful covers. The first is Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” in both acoustic and chamber version settings, and the second is Sage’s sensitive reading of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.”
The Final Painting, Ed Askew
With many of us still reeling from the losses of icons Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, it’s important to remember a possibly less well-known but no less iconic, queer singer/songwriter, Ed Askew. Askew, who passed in 2025 at the age of 84, favored a kind of stream-of-consciousness-yet-still-personal style of songwriting, as listeners can hear on his posthumously released final recording The Final Painting (Drag City), built “upon some of his home recordings from 2020 and 2022.
Acid-folk legend Askew, who didn’t shy away from queer subject matter, received a hip seal of approval from Sharon Van Etten, who can be heard performing with him on the song “Gray Air-O-Plane” from The Last Painting, as well as on his 2013 “For The World” release. Bill Callahan, of Smog renown, can be heard on the song “Someone.”
Askew was a visual artist in addition to being a musician, and an unfinished untitled painting by him fittingly graces the album cover.
I’ve Missed You All These Years, Sera Cahoone
It’s amazing to think that exceptionally talented lesbian singer/songwriter Sera Cahoone (a high-profile ex of soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe) has only released six albums over the course of 20 years. In a way, that gives the title of her wonderful new album, I’ve Missed You All These Years (Sub Pop) additional meaning.
When you hear these 11 songs, you’ll feel like something’s been missing, and you’re glad this music is here to fill in the blanks. It offers a searing blend of heartache (“Not How I Hoped,” “Say Something,” “Supposed To Be”) and the possibilities of love (“Horse Runnin’,” “No One Like You,” “High and Low,” and “Something Good”).
Let’s hope she doesn’t keep us waiting so long for the next album.
One Last Heist, Wesley Stace
When he was known as John Wesley Harding, bi singer/songwriter Wesley Stace had songs produced by none other than fellow bisexual Tom Robinson on his 1990 major-label album (listen to the song “When The Sun Comes Out” and check out his habit of appearing shirtless on album covers).Stace, now a daddy in more ways than one, has returned with One Last Heist (Pravda).
Still a purveyor of playful language, Stace continues to expand his musical palette. From the bossa nova rhythms of “In Your Own Time” and “I Say Lots of Things,” the jazzy snap of “Get It In Your Fingers,” the Latin vibe of “Hanging Up The Sickle,” the retro pop of “Penelope” and the title track and the timely drama of “Thoughts and Prayers,” fingers crossed that there are more heists to come