Energetic Jazz Funk Group Sammy Rae & The Friends Closes Out 2020 for the Lantern Series

On October 17th, Sammy Rae & The Friends, who were formed from a collection of talented musicians and friends in 2016, will come to Elm Street Cultural Arts Village's Event Green in Downtown Woodstock to perform a combination of jazz, funk, and rock and roll.

The lyrics focus on themes of coming-of-age, defiance, and self-expression. Her genre blending performances are high-energy, honest and quirky, influenced by the Great Performances of her childhood classic rock heroes.

In short, The Friends are the band. Their full band performances feature 9 pieces: a rhythm section, a horn section, keyboards, and two back up singers, all led by Rae through high-energy vocals and an assortment of instruments. On a grander scale, The Friends is the community of followers, artists and creatives who help in the creation of the songs and the world. As Rae's website reads, "We don't have fans, we have Friends."

Sammy Rae's music has been described by The Boston Globe as, "Swoony, euphoric jazz-rock, pitched somewhere between Lake Street Drive and Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, with Bowers' soulful vocals at center stage." Sammy Rae consistently surprises audiences with a broad range of sounds ranging anywhere from funky pop to borderline rock and roll. Sammy explores and pushes the boundaries of normalized Top 40 pop music and comes up with new sounds all her own. BK Reader says that "Samantha Bowers leads the type of music revolution in which everyone is welcome and can join."

Sammy Rae & The Friends is replacing the original We Banjo 3 concert performance date, which has had to be postponed to October of 2021 due to current EU travel restrictions. "This is honestly one of the groups I have been the most excited about to bring to our stage," Production Manager Brian Gamel says. "Sammy and the group come in and they bring this fun, indie, jazz, funk feel to it that you're sure not to hear anywhere else and you don't want to miss."

The outdoor concert is a one-night engagement on Saturday, October 17th at 7:30pm. Sammy Rae & The Friends is appropriate for all ages to attend, where every attendee will enjoy an energetic live performance with their full 9 piece band. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own food and drinks (no outside alcohol) and decorate their tables. Reformation beer and a variety of wines as well as hard ciders will be available for purchase. Elm Street Cultural Arts Village is closely monitoring COVID-19 outbreaks as well as spikes and is working diligently to ensure proper social distancing guidelines are met for the health, safety, and comfort of audience members, volunteers, and the artists. Elm Street's full guidelines can be found here: www.elmstreetarts.org/before-you-go

Tickets are on sale now at www.elmstreetarts.org. Please note that all sales are final and the concert is rain or shine. Tables and seats are available at varying levels:

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