Nov 235 min read

SAMMY RAE & THE FRIENDS AT ROADRUNNER, BOSTON

Photos by Joanna Gleason

Review by Jean Senat Fleury

On November 15, 2024, The Roadrunner located at 89 Guest Street, Boston, MA, welcomed Sammy Rae & The Friends. The modern 3,500 – capacity live music venue with large areas and a balcony, plus a bar was filled with crazy and enthusiastic fans who came to see the singer/songwriter Sammy Rae Bowers, the leader of the funk/jazz-rock band based in New York City, NY.

The show started at 8:00 p.m. with Jukebox the Ghost opening for Sammy Rae & The Friends. Active since 2006, the American three-piece power pop band formed in the Washington, D.C. metro area consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar), and Jesse Kristin (drums).

According to Tommy Siegel, the band leader, “The name was a combination of words with “jukebox” originating from the lyrics of a Captain Beefheart song and “ghost” as a reference to a Nabokov novel. In a 2020 interview, Siegel said that the idea to add the word “ghost” to the band name occurred to Thornewill in particular, as “he really wanted something involving ghosts.”

In 2008, the group released their first album, Let Live & Let Ghosts which was recorded during winter break of their senior year of college. Jukebox the Ghostrecorded a cover of Ace of Base’s “Beautiful Life” for Engine Room Recordings’ compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2, which was released in November 2008.

After releasing their debut album, they toured with Say Hi and Nightmare of You, among others. In 2009 they toured with Ben Folds, and shortly with Jenny Owen Youngs in the United States. The band began recording their sophomore album “Everything under the Sun” on September 29, 2009, at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

In February 2010, Jukebox the Ghost toured Europe with Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches. This was followed by more touring in the United States with the bands Tally Hall and Skybox. After opening for several national bands such as Guster – Barenaked Ladies – Jack’s Mannequin and Motion City Soundtrack; on June 12, 2012, Jukebox the Ghost released their third album, Safe Travels. In an interview with Jukebox the Ghosts, Ben Thornewill stated that “this record has a lot of songs that are directly from our own life experience. Whether they are journalistically accurate or not, probably not, but they come from something in our lives, not something we’re imagining.”

On May 23, 2014, they released a new single, “The Great Unknown” from their self-titled fourth record, Jukebox the Ghost which was released on October 21, 2014.

On January 21, 2015, the band announced they had signed with preeminent pop alternative label Cherrytree Records. The group re-released their self-titled album in February 2015, under their new label. In late March 2015, the group announced a national summer tour with Ingrid Michaelson. One month later, they released the music video for “Postcard.” The band also wrote a song called “Black Hole” for The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show. “Black Hole” was featured on an episode in 2015.

The same year, the band began their annual “HalloQueen” shows, a series of performances around Halloween in which the band wears costumes inspired by and covers songs by Queen. In March 2017, the group released the single, “Stay the Night.” The song was featured in the second season of Rob Schneider’s Netflix series, Real Rob.

On January 19, 2018, the group announced the new single “Everybody Lonely” along with a new album titled Off to the Races. On May 27, 2022, the group released the album “Cheers.”

Opening for Sammy Rae & The Friends at Roadrunner in Boston, Jukebox the Ghost was phenomenal. The group played a list of songs featuring in different albums: Let Live & Let Ghosts (2008), Everything Under the Sun (2010), Safe Travels (2012), Jukebox the Ghost (2014), Off to the Races (2018), and Cheers (2022).

At 9:30 p.m. after a brief intermission, the headliner Sammy Rae & The Friends took the stage. With a group of talented musicians, Samantha Rae Bowers: the front woman and band leader, William Leet (Guitar and Keys), James Guinlan (Bass), Santiago Chiriboga (Drums, and Percussion), the group put on a terrific show in Boston. The band members who consider themselves a collective, along with the sound mixers, lighting designers, publicists, bus drivers, were phenomenal. They had one message for each fan present at the audience :“ put a smile on somebody’s face, tell somebody they’ve got a place in this world, tell somebody you wanna be friends with them.”

The band’s musical influences are nothing short of diverse, including funk, folk, rock, pop, and many more. Known for their immersive concerts that feature props and a wall of music, Sammy Rae & The Friends gained through years of touring respectability which helped them build a strong fans base.

Leader of the group, Sammy Rae Bowers started to play music at age of twelve after seeing Bruce Springsteen on VH1. She said she was influenced by church music (particularly gospel music) and classic rock, as well as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon for vocals, and the E Street Band for their group dynamics. She was playing live shows from fifteen and released her first album a few years later. In November 2016, she released her first album, Sugar with 10-tracks recorded at Flux Studios on the Lower East Side. She later deleted the album, claiming it was “off-brand.” In 2018, Sammy Rae & The Friends released their EP The Good Life, followed in 2021 by their EP Let’s Throw a Party. In 2021, the band was selected for the American Music Abroad program. Through 2021 and 2022, the band gained popularity on Spotify. The band released their debut studio album, Something for Everybody, on September 20, 2024.

With the release of their debut album Something for Everybody in 2024, Sammy Rae & The Friends have come to represent more than just a band: they are a full-on movement being adopted with a refreshingly diverse clientele.

Deeply admired by hundreds of thousands of fans across North American, and the UK & Europe, the front woman and band leader artist has always had a strong presence on stage. When she started playing shows, she made sure the audience was part of the family too. By moving, kicking, and laying on the stage, she proves to be an outstandingly charismatic band leader, who knows how to command a stage.

Evaluating the concert as a photographer and a fan of live music, I would say: It was such a great show from start to finish. Sammy’s strong voice filled the room, and it was 90 minutes of Fun. “I didn’t know much about them before the concert but I became an immediate fan,” said a young girl wearing a T-shirt with the logo of the band.

Sammy Rae & The Friends Setlist

1- The Friends Intro

2- Thieves

3- The Feeling

4- We Made It

5- Jackie Onassis

6- Cool-Doug, at Night

7- No Rule Book

8- I Get It Now

9- David (acoustic)

10- 888-98 CALLYABACK

11- Good Time Tavern