Hundreds of Lawrencians showed up in costumes to see Sammy Rae & The Friends play Monday night at the Granada.
The seven-member band, fronted by Samantha Bowers — aka Sammy Rae — all dressed up as characters from Scooby Doo.
Bowers, 28, was born in Derby, Connecticut. She began performing in her local theater at the age of 7, and by 12, she was writing her own songs.
Max Zooi, a 30-year-old originally from Los Angeles, plays tenor saxophone.
Erin Cangelose, a 23-year-old KU graduate student from Olathe, dressed as Sammy Rae. This was her third time seeing Sammy Rae & The Friends perform.
Kellon Reese plays alto saxophone.
Reese, Zooi, James Quinlan (bass), Debbie Tjong (keys and background music), Will Leet (guitarist) and C-bass Chiriboga (drums) make up “The Friends.”
The band’s “If It All Goes South” tour began in Philadelphia on Oct. 13 and will conclude on Feb. 4 in the U.K. They’ve sold out upcoming shows in San Francisco, Seattle, London, Manchester and beyond.
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Chloe Anderson (she/her) contributed to The Lawrence Times from August 2022 through May 2023. She is also published in Climbing magazine, Kansas Reflector and Sharp End Publishing. As a recent graduate of the University of Kansas, Chloe plans to continue her career in photography, rock climbing and writing somewhere out West.
You can view her portfolio, articles and commissioned work here. Check out more of her work for the Times here.
