Interview: Sammy Rae Discusses the Future of The Friends

Sammy Rae & The Friends’ eponymous frontwoman discusses the family she’s built, the fun they have jammin’ out together, and what the future holds for them with their upcoming tour and festival circuit shows.

Written by Arundhati Ghosh

Photos courtesy of Sammy Rae & The Friends

The spectacular septet that is Sammy Rae & The Friends, born of one woman’s dream, has grown into a family that travels, creates, and performs as one. Together, they traverse several genres of music, from classic rock to jazz, to soul and funk. Their big band style of production has only grown since Sammy’s first EP, The Good Life, and as they embark on a headline tour, frontwoman Sammy Rae looks back on the influences that have shaped them, and everything that is to come for the group.

Afterglow: Thank you for talking with me! I know everything’s hectic right now with touring, so I really appreciate you taking the time to answer some questions. 

Sammy Rae: I’m happy to do it! Thank you for having me.

How did Sammy Rae & The Friends come to be?

Well, I wanted to get a band together, a big band. I started writing music from a time when I was really young, moved to the city at 19, and pulled a band of a few players I did know together. Some it ended up working out with, and some it didn’t. Since then, over time, everyone in the band, with the exception of one or two people, has stuck around which is really cool.

I just wanted to found [sic] something based on a sense of community, with and for adults engaging with and embracing their inner child. Our shows are about this community, and we hope to provide a safe space for everyone watching the show. Our audience has grown and grown by word of mouth and the songs have just kept on coming. It gets easier because we travel and live with each other. 

Y’all often introduce yourselves as a “collective of dreamers and artists,” and place emphasis on the variety of instruments that are featured in your songs and back your vocals. As the frontwoman, what does having this camaraderie mean to you and for y’all’s music?

I knew from the beginning that I never wanted to be a solo artist, it just doesn’t seem like as much fun. There’s influence backwards and forwards, like it’s not just about writing the song, I have to think about the groove my drummer can play, things like that. We know each other well as musicians and play off of each others’ strengths. It’s nice to have people that you trust, love, and have your back and want to be there for you. We really care for each other. 

Who are your main musical influences? What would you say are the major running themes in your music?

Lots of classic rock, Big Band from the ’70s, I just really wanted a big giant band, with horns and everything in it. We try to maintain the energy of a live show or of records, we’re really just having a good time playing off of and with each other. Classic rock bands really captured the energy we’re going for. Together we feel we have a live feeling, a live, fun feeling in the studio.

How would you say your sound has grown and changed from “Kick It to Me” and The Good Life to your 2022 releases?

We didn’t really know each other yet with The Good Life. We had just gotten together for a couple of sessions at that point, so it was more like everyone was just playing their part at first. Now, we’ve spent the last four years growing together and living and learning together. Inspirations are always evolving, and at this point we keep close to each others’ interests. It’s like “Hey, C-bass will be good at playing this,” or “Will Will like this,” so we keep each other inspired.

You also get tighter over time. Our records have really evolved in that way, it feels safer to take risks. It’s not our own parts anymore, it’s like “What are we going to make together?” The arrangement process is far more collaborative, will all seven of us.

Are there any styles or concepts that you’ve wanted to explore but haven’t gotten to yet, or any that we should look forward to seeing from you in the future?

Yeah! We have a new piece coming soon, it’ll be our first sad song. I mean, it’s still high energy and it still slaps, but a friend asked me if I was ever gonna write a song that’s actually sad. It has more open-ended lyrics than usual, it’s not just spoon-feeding fans a victory. It leaves room up for interpretation. [Fans] can handle it, they know we’re real people now, and it feels safer to be real people. Like, we’re human, we’re sad sometimes and our music can show that. We think our audience is ready for it. We’re trying out deeper, more abstract thoughts, feelings, and concepts.

Over time, how have you started feeling about the vulnerability that comes with performing?

The audience is on your side. It’s about realizing that they wouldn’t buy a ticket and come see you if they aren’t on your side. Many of our fans are similar people or have similar tastes, but they’re not always the same, so it’s okay for us to not always be the same. I definitely feel safer around them now and try to stretch out and branch out.

You did do a 5-week tour after dropping “Follow Me Like the Moon,” and are about to start touring again for a slightly longer stretch of time. Are there any things you look forward to with going on a longer tour, especially with being involved with the festival circuit during this upcoming tour?

Coming off of the old tour, we just felt tight. Festival season is more loose because not everyone in a crowd knows you, maybe 30% know you and the rest either dig what you’re doing or don’t. You have to account for weather, different festivals having different audiences. We were at a festival once where we were probably the only band that was not straight bluegrass.

With festivals we just jam, there’s a lot of tailoring our set right before we go on, just while we’re in the wings. It’s like, “Should we be extending this solo section? Should this be looser?” I’m excited to see how that affects the headline tour.

What’s next for Sammy Rae & The Friends, in terms of new projects and the tour?

I’m excited for the tour, especially with playing European shows, international shows. We have new material coming out, a full length full album might be in the works. There’s no promises on that though!

You can check out Sammy Rae & The Friends’ website, follow them on Instagram, and stream their music on Spotify and Apple Music.

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.