You know that feeling when you have been cooped up inside for too long and you just need to connect with nature and be outside? And the when you finally are, it’s like breathing in new air; everything feels great, and the world is beautiful. You get this taste of the “Good Life” at a Sammy Rae & the Friends concert. This show was unlike anything I have ever experienced.
On Saturday, February 10, 2024, Sammy Rae & the Friends brought it on home for their biggest hometown show yet at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut. This show was a massive event with two members, Sammy Rae herself and guitarist Will Leet, being from Connecticut. Crowds filled with passionate fans and proud family and friends make for the show of a lifetime. The energy in the venue was truly unmatched.
The show kicked off with a fun opening by Connecticut-based band Funky Dawgz. This brass band did it all. From original works of hip-hop and funk to cool pop covers, their energy was a blast. The members all came out in fun tracksuits and brought an excited vibe to get the crowd ready for Sammy Rae. My favorite part of their performance was when they played “Unwritten” by Natashia Bedingfield. Playing a hometown show means heckling from your friends in the crowd. Luckily enough, I was in the pit next to all of their friends, who were proud and excited to see their closest friends up on the big stage and having the time of their lives.
Sammy Rae & the Friends came out running and jumping, starting with their hit song “Talk it Up”. This energy from the start was immaculate. Sammy Rae herself was proudly wearing a T-shirt with the New Haven area code 203. They shouted out their friends and family in the crowd and let the fun begin.
The show was filled with new unreleased songs, reimagined old hits, and crazy covers that spanned throughout the whole night. The fun and energy honestly never stopped. The most fun of the night was when Sammy Rae brought back out Funky Dawgz, and she and keyboardist and vocalist Debbie Tjong sang a jazzed-up high energy cover of “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet. This cover was filled with flashing lights and crazy solos, they not only had fun on stage but brought the fun into the audience.
Hearing a song you have a connection to live is a different kind of energy. The two girls in the audience behind me screamed in joy at the first note of “Living Room Floor” and sang every word of this song straight from the heart. It is magical to see an artist feel the energy from a crowd and use it. Sammy Rae on her own playing the piano and these girls singing along with her was such a special moment. It felt as though she was singing it to them specifically to make their moment more magical.
As the night came to a close, I did not want it to end. An emotional and heartfelt concert is something hard to come by. But to see a band wait their whole lives for this moment and have it be everything they have ever wanted is fulfilling, to say the least. Seeing the looks of friends and family who came and hearing the cheers of crowds who have followed you since a small venue is a crazy full circle moment for any artist, and Sammy Rae & the Friends truly took advantage of every second they had on that stage. With an encore and an ending bow, family members cried, fans cheered, and music teachers, who taught these kids their first notes on the guitar, looked on feeling content and complete in their lives. A great night all around. Sammy Rae & the Friends were a breath of fresh air and a new perspective on enjoying every step of the way to reach your goals.
