Sammy Rae & The Friends just released their debut album, “Something For Everybody,” in September. But you wouldn’t know it from the band’s performance at the Roadrunner on Nov. 16, the second of two shows at the Boston venue and the final night of their first nationwide tour. From the moment frontwoman Samantha Bowers stepped onstage with the confidence of a veteran performer, the audience was electric, cheering and singing along with Bowers and her uber-talented bandmates.
For Bowers, it seems to come naturally — better known by her stage name Sammy Rae, she has been singing nearly her entire life. Her band, Sammy Rae & The Friends, released their first EP, “The Good Life,” back in 2018, and have amassed an impressive following in the years since. It’s not hard to see why: the New York-based ensemble’s unique blend of classic rock, funk, neo-soul and jazz helps them stand out in the crowd, and their mission to spread positivity through their performances resonates with just about everyone. Look no further than the band’s mantra: “Go put a smile on somebody’s face, go tell somebody they’ve got a place in this world, go tell somebody you wanna be friends with them.”
The band’s joyful vibes were certainly on display at the Roadrunner. Bowers thanked audience members for choosing to spend their night with the Friends and encouraged them to be kind to themselves and their fellow concertgoers. Bowers was joined by her six bandmates, C-Bass Chiriboga on drums, Debbie Tjong on keys, James Quinlan on bass, Will Leet on guitar, Kellon Reese on alto saxophone and Max Zooi on tenor saxophone and synths. The bandmates’ ability to interact with each other and get the audience involved in each song made the concert a truly communal experience.
The concert began with an energetic performance by Jukebox the Ghost, a power pop band who lit up the venue with their impressive musicality and stage presence. Following the opener, the Friends took the stage, starting their set with “The Friends Intro” and “Thieves,” the first two tracks off their debut album. The explosive energy of “Thieves” set the tone for the rest of the night, as audience members sang along to the “la la las” of the chorus and rocked out to Leet’s spectacular guitar solo. The Friends mixed new songs with older hits, including “The Feeling,” a groovy jazz-pop song from their 2018 EP about the pain of being hurt by a love that isn’t meant to be.
The high energy continued with “We Made It,” a joyful song off the Friends’ new album about being proud of your accomplishments and finding fulfillment in your life, and “Jackie Onassis,” a queer coming-of-age song about Bowers’ first crush that builds slowly to a funky, sax-filled finale. But the highlight of the concert’s first half was “Cool-Doug at Night,” a bizarrely wonderful disco-inspired track about a white-collar guy named Doug who transforms into a disco star, with Leet singing lead vocals in an impressive falsetto.
While Bowers and the Friends excelled in their high-energy performances, they were equally captivating in their ballads. Bowers accompanied herself on the piano for “I Get It Now,” an emotionally resonant song about the things that suddenly make sense when you fall in love for the first time. In another acoustic track, “David,” Bowers sang about the challenges of male mental health, giving men a space to express their emotions openly.
Next, the friends brought the energy back up to 11 with “Call Ya Back,” “Good Time Tavern” and “Luck of the Draw,” three more hits off of “Something for Everybody.” “Call Ya Back,” a toe-tapping song whose melody began as Chiriboga’s impromptu response to an unwanted call, saw the band utilizing body percussion and non-traditional sounds, including Quinlan’s upright bass. The band used a wide variety of instruments throughout the night, performing several songs with the sumptuous sounds of the Nebulous Quartet, a Berklee-based string ensemble.
Bowers began the concert’s final act with an astonishing mashup of “Kick It to Me,” “Talk It Up” and “Good Life,” three of the band’s most popular songs from “The Good Life.” The medley was infused with their characteristic jazzy, dynamic sound. In an encore, the band performed a rollicking cover of the Genesis hit “That’s All,” before closing out the concert with “Coming Home Song.” Perhaps the strongest of their new tracks, the bluesy “Coming Home Song” features tight harmonies, gentle saxophone riffs and poignant lyrics that remind listeners to practice self-love: “Cut off your hair if it's too long/ Write yourself a coming home song/ Learn from the things that you've done wrong/ Leave a light on for yourself.”
Sammy Rae & The Friends remind us that music is a shared experience, as Bowers and her bandmates took every opportunity to invite audience members to participate. As Bowers said during the performance, the Friends you see onstage are just one part of the band — when we attend their concert and sing along with them, we’re all part of the Friends, too.
