Sammy Rae & The Friends Releases New Single “I Get It Now”

April 12, 2024 BY Emma Orland

Today, Sammy Rae & The  Friends have released a sweeping new track, I Get It Now.” “It’s a song about really and truly falling in love for the first time,” says Rae. “A song about all the things that suddenly make sense once you become someone who has been in love. Interestingly, it’s the first love song of the Sammy Rae & The Friends discography.” Listen to “I Get It Now” HERE.

In the last few months Sammy Rae has released “Thieves” and “Coming Home Song,” and together they mark the first two releases of new recorded music since she burst onto the scene with her two EPs The Good Life (2018) and Let’s Throw a Party (2021). Since those early releases, Sammy Rae & The Friends have become a juggernaut. With a live experience that fans liken to church…or communion, however you see it, it’s an exultation and a cathartic release like no other musical act can offer. In the few years since she started workshopping her live show at NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall, she’s grown to selling out 5000 cap venues from London to LA and continues to add to her fervent fanbase.

Sammy Rae & The Friends have announced a major North American tour taking place this fall. Tickets will go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 21st at 10AM Local time. The dates will kick off on September 30th at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA and include several multi-night residencies including Showbox SoDo in Seattle, WA on October 11th and 12th, two hometown shows at Terminal 5 in New York City on November 8th and 9thAcademy of Music in Northampton, MA on November 12th and 13th and a return Roadrunner in Boston on November 15th and 16th. Drag Queen and environmental and LGBTQ activist Pattie Gonia will open several of the dates on the tour. A full list of tour dates are below and for more details and to purchase tickets visit https://www.sammyrae.com. A portion of the proceeds from this tour will go to the Ally Coalition and their work supporting LGBTQ youth across the country.

For as much as Sammy Rae & The Friends may be a band, this collective of dreamers and artists considers themselves a family first. They flourish in any spotlight with a combination of all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie, palpable chemistry, deft virtuosity, and vocal fireworks. Their sound is a mélange of Sammy’s influences, rooted in classic rock, folk, and funk and sprinkled with soul and jazz. Complete with a rhythm section and two saxophones, The Friends had a stellar year of high-energy performances throughout 2023 playing their biggest shows and festivals to date, including Central Park Summerstage, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, and their first-ever international headline tour, which saw them selling out venues from North America to the UK and Europe, including London’s 5,000 cap Apollo Theatre two times.

Rae has been building toward this moment since moving to NYC from Connecticut in her early 20s. Finding herself without a built-in peer group, she simply built it herself: the literal and proverbial Friends. When she started playing shows, she made sure the audience was part of the family too. Everything that’s happened since, from the EPs to sold-out shows in major markets and secondary markets alike across North America and the UK & Europe, to high-profile festival sets around the world, including Bonnaroo’s main stage, Sound on Sound and more, has been based on friends telling friends.

As they prepare for the release of their long-awaited debut full-length album 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.

TOUR DATES:

# w/ Mika

+ w/ The Avett Brothers

! w/ Corook

^ w/ Pattie Gonia

* w/ support from Sir Woman

& w/ Wic Whitney

July 05 – Noches del Botánico Festival – Madrid, SPAIN

July 09 – Kew The Music – London, UK#

July 12 – North Sea Jazz Festival – Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS

Aug 20 – KEMBA Live! – Columbus, OH+

Aug 21 – Masonic Temple – Detroit, MI+

Aug 23 – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica – Cleveland, OH+

Sept 30 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA

Oct 02 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI

Oct 03 – Palace Theatre – St. Paul, MN

Oct 04 – Val Air Ballroom – West Des Moines, IA

Oct 06 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO!

Oct 10 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC CANADA^

Oct 11 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA^

Oct 12 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA^

Oct 13 – Grand Lodge – Forest Grove, OR^

Oct 15 – Fox Theatre – Oakland, CA^

Oct 17 – Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA^

Oct 18 – Humphrey’s – San Diego, CA^

Oct 19 – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ*

Oct 21 – Lensic PAC – Santa Fe, NM*

Oct 23 – Tower Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK*

Oct 25 – Midland Theatre – Kansas City, MO*

Oct 26 – Hi-Fi Annex – Indianapolis, IN*

Oct 27 – The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL&

Oct 29 – History – Toronto, ON CANADA

Oct 30 – Rialto Theatre – Montreal QC – CANADA

Nov 01 – The Flynn – Burlington, VT

Nov 02 – State Theatre – Portland, ME

Nov 03 – Landmark Theatre – Syracuse, NY

Nov 08 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY

Nov 09 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY^

Nov 11 – Ulster PAC – Kingston, NY^

Nov 12 – Academy of Music – Northampton, MA^

Nov 13 – Academy of Music – Northampton, MA^

Nov 15 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA^

Nov 16 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA