Samantha Rae Bowers[1] (born January 4, 1994), known professionally as Sammy Rae, is an American jazz rock and indiesinger-songwriter and the leader of the band Sammy Rae & The Friends.[2][3][4] She has released one album, two EPs, and one live album, with another studio album slated to be released in 2024. Her musical style is influenced by funk, jazz, rock, folk, and pop.[5]
Biography
Early life
Rae was born in Derby, Connecticut on January 4, 1994. Rae enjoyed singing from a very young age, starting with nursery rhymes as a toddler.[6] When she was young, her parents fostered her interest in the arts, taking her to participate in a children’s theatre company in Shelton, after-school choirs, and piano lessons.[7] She realized that she wanted to be a songwriter at the age of 12 after watching a segment on VH1 about Bruce Springsteen.[8] When she was 15, she played her first show.[7] She attended Sacred Heart Academy, a private, all-girls Catholic high school with uniform requirements and little chance for self-expression, where she was a member of the art scene.[7][9] She then attended the University of New Haven for one year studying sound engineering and audio technology.[10] In 2013, at the age of 19, Rae moved to New York City to pursue songwriting and study music and teaching at Manhattan College.[11] She dropped out in 2014 and worked waiting tables while pursuing music in her free time.
Career
Rae took up a six-month residency at the Cotton Club jazz lounge in Harlem, while regularly singing at open mic shows and writing and recording her own songs.[9] It was during this time that she met the six other musicians who became her bandmates in 2016.[11] In November 2016, she released her first album, Sugar, with 10-tracks recorded at Flux Studios on the Lower East Side.[6] She later deleted the album, claiming it was "off-brand".
In 2018, her band, Sammy Rae & The Friends, released their EP The Good Life, followed in 2021 by their EP Let's Throw a Party.[12] Through 2021 and 2022, the band gained popularity on Spotify, partly due to being featured on the platform's "Discover Weekly" playlist.[11]
The band cancelled its 2020 tour dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] In 2021, the band embarked on the Follow Me Like The Moon Tour, playing shows across the United States, as well as Toronto, Ontario.[13] In 2022, the band completed their If It All Goes South tour.[14] In 2023, the band released an album composed of live recordings from this tour, called The If It All Goes South Tour (Live). In 2023, the band began its CAMP: The Tour! tour, named after the artistic style of camp.[15][16]
The band is in the process of recording their debut studio album, slated for release in 2024.[16]
Influences
Rae stated 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.[17] The band's style is influenced by the diverse musical backgrounds of all its members, with genres such as jazz, rock, funk, folk, theater, and world music.[11]
Personal life
Sammy Rae identifies as queer and uses she/her or they/them pronouns.[11] As such, her music often includes themes of queer and female empowerment. This is most apparent in her song "Jackie Onassis," which Rae has stated is "a love song to my first crushes, and it’s also a love song to all young women."[18]
Discography
EPs
Release Date
Name
July 20, 2018
The Good Life
January 22, 2021
Let's Throw A Party
Albums
Release Date
Name
November 4, 2016
Sugar
August 11, 2023
The If It All Goes South Tour (Live)
References
^Nunn, Jerry (November 5, 2021). "Sammy Rae". GoPride.
