Sammy Rae & The Friends brought soulful vocals, upbeat rhythms, sweet horns, and a genre-crossing show to Terminal 5 on Friday, November 8. Most importantly, they brought heartfelt joy and community to a packed venue when it was so needed – less than a week after the most contentious election in recent history.

Fresh off their first full studio album Something for Everybody, Sammy Rae & The Friends made a New York homecoming at Manhattan’s Terminal 5 for two nights on November 8 and 9. This isn’t the first time the band has toured in New York, having finished their CAMP world tour in Buffalo earlier this year, but it is the first time they’ve been back to showcase their new album.

Sammy Rae & The Friends appeal has grown exponentially since they formed in New York City, and played their first 30-person gig, as Sammy Rae said from the stage. The singer moved to the City in her late teens, originally intending to study music. She ended up playing at venues around the city and building her own network of musicians who would later become the eponymous “friends” in her band.

Smoke Ring, followed by Sub-Radio, opened the show, with the latter jumping onto the stage from their first note. The Washington DC-based Indie-pop band kicked, high jumped and sang soring lyrics for an action-packed hour before Sammy Rae & The Friends came on.

Showcasing that “Friends” isn’t just a name and community isn’t just an ideal, C-Bass Chiriboga, Sammy Rae’s drummer, replaced Michael Pereira, Sub-Radio’s drummer, with just four days’ notice since the latter was stuck out of the country. Throughout their set, Sub-radio and C-Bass created a safe space for queer teens highlighting the importance of music for those finding themselves, especially after an “incredibly hard week.”

As soon as Sammy Rae & The Friends stepped on stage, they exploded with energy, joy, and hope. Building on Sub-Radio’s message, early in the set, Sammy Rae highlighted that governmental policies may come and go but that community and radical joy will build true strength. The rest of the show expanded that message both on stage and in the audience. More than most front people, Sammy Rae shares the spotlight with her band, physically moving to the back of the stage to let her horn section riff off each other, her guitarists take the spotlight, and even letting her bassist solo with a standup bass. A string quartet even joined the band, so did Jacob Jeffries who was in from Los Angeles.

Their message of joy and community didn’t end at the stage. Throughout the audience, lyrics were yelled, fans danced, and Sammy Rae & The Friends encouraged it all – allowing fans to feel everything they needed. At one moment, as Sammy Rae saw members of the audience crying, she stopped the show, saying, “I see so many of you crying, and you’re so beautiful.” The singer then asked audience members to turn to their neighbors and tell them that they were beautiful.

As the night wore on, the band ended by bringing all their stored energy to bear, thanking their hometown audience with massive solos, sending the audience off with one more moment of joy.

Setlist: Friends Intro >Thieves, The Feeling, We Made it, Jackie O, Cool Douge, No Rule Book > Winds Intro, I Get It Now, David, Call Ya Back, Good Time Tavern, Luck of the Draw, Good Life Medley, State Song, Hold the Line, Coming Home Song

Sammy Rae & The Friends will be on tour in the northeast through December before going to Europe in February 2025. Notably, The band has committed to making their entire tour as environmentally friendly as possible, working with Headcount across the U.S. to register voters, and donating one dollar of every ticket sale to local LGBTQ organizations in each city they play.

Tour Dates:

Nov 11, 2024 Ulster Performing Arts Center Kingston, NY

Nov 12, 2024 Academy of Music Theatre Northampton, MA

Nov 13, 2024 Academy of Music Theatre Northampton, MA

Nov 15, 2024 Roadrunner Boston, MA

Nov 16, 2024 Roadrunner Boston, MA

Dec 31, 2024 The Anthem Washington, DC