Sammy Rae & The Friends formed about seven years ago in New York, born from a desire to connect to a community through music. Although they may be a band, this collective of dreamers and artists considers themselves a family first. Their unique sound is almost indescribable and needs to be experienced firsthand—a mix of the musicians’ inspirations of classic rock, folk and funk with soul and jazz elements.
Sammy Rae & The Friends hit KC in support of their new (and first) record that tells the story of the band’s music, Something for Everybody, with Sir Woman opening.
We sat down with Sammy Rae, the versatile musician and band’s front woman, ahead of Sammy Rae & The Friends show at The Midland this Friday, October 25.
Tell us about the inception of the band.
I decided to leave school and try to start the band, and I had a small paid gig singing jazz standards on a Friday at a little club in Harlem. That’s where I met JQ, our bassist, and over the course of the next couple years, he and I kind of founded this project. There’s seven of us, and we’ve met everywhere—from the piano bar scene, to the Broadway scene, to the jazz scene. So we all sort of found ourselves looking for a similar thing, which was a touring project that we could grow with. We’re very grateful for how mobile we get to be, and for the fact that we were able to take some time and make the record last year. So we all just sort of found each other as we were looking for other really kind hearted, quirky people that wanted to start a band. And here we are.
How would you describe the band’s sound?
We’ve always said from the very beginning, it’s kind of something for everybody. And it’s silly, because that’s the name of our record. It was kind of how we always had described ourselves over the years, and it was kind of a point of self consciousness, because we’re seven different musicians who come from seven different studies of music, walks of life and places of inspiration. What you end up with is a hugely collaborative sound that everybody has their hands in. When it came time to make the record, it was just kind of like, ‘well, this is what we do. These are the songs in front of us. When are we going to kind of stop pretending that we fit in one lane or one genre? Let’s just really lean into it.’ So we called the record Something for Everybody. And if I really, really have to, I usually say we’re a few bands—we’re a bit of a rock, pop band that has elements of funk, jazz and disco. It’s hard, so I usually just tell everybody, there’s something you’re gonna like. There’s Something for Everybody.
I always think of you guys as more jazzy, but everywhere online labels you as indie or alternative, so it’s interesting. Where do you think that comes from?
I don’t think people know what box to put us in, and we don’t even know what box to put us in. That felt like a hindrance for a while, until we were just like, ‘this is our super power.’ If we can do all these different things, why would we not? We are a bit of a rock band, but we do lots of other stuff. And to call us just a rock band would to be a takeaway from our jazz and our soul and the world elements that we incorporate. So ‘Alternative’ feels like the best catch-all.
Tell us about the inception of your newest (and first) record, Something for Everybody.
We were able to go up to the Catskill Mountains outside of Woodstock, New York, and live on site at the studio for two weeks. We were able to wake up and dive right in—we played the record almost entirely live except vocals. We really cut our teeth as a live band. We’re kind of road dogs, we spend a great deal of time on the road. So the challenge with this record was figuring out how to kind of encapsulate that live sound and put it into what we were doing in the studio. And I think we did that well. We really wanted to lean into all these things that we love and [where] we come from. So the love song is really a love song with a heavy string arrangement. And the disco song is like a flat out disco tune. And the R & B is really slow jam R & B. The hard rock tune really rocks hard. If any of those things sound interesting, I’m sure that song will grab you, and you’re probably going to enjoy sticking around for the rest of the record.
What can people expect at the show at The Midland, Friday, October 25th?
It’s very high energy. There’s a lot of rolling around the floor and having a good time. It’s very inclusive, and that we try to welcome everybody into the space, make everybody kind of feel like they’re being looked at in the eye. You’re going to watch seven people who have formed a sense of chosen family—we really just hype each other up and love on each other. And we’re also, in my opinion, some of the most gifted musicians in New York. It’s just a really, really talented crew. And I’m so lucky and grateful to be able to work with them all the time.
It’s just a ‘come as you are’ environment, lots of energy, a lot of dancing and you are absolutely going to make a friend. If you show up alone, you will make friends. And if you show up with friends, you’re going to join somebody else’s group, and then you’re going to be a big ol’ friend group. It’s not just a place to see music, it’s a place to socialize, make friends and come as you are.
GO: See Sammy Rae & The Friends at The Midland, Friday, October 25th.
