Date Signed: Oct. 1, 2019
Label: Nettwerk Music Group
Band Members: Samantha Bowers
Type of Music: Alternative/Indie
Management: Doug Shaw - Wilspro Management, [email protected]; Debbie Wilson, Wilspro Management
Booking: Seth Rappaport - APA, [email protected]
Legal: Alan Johnson
Publicity: Danielle Romeo, [email protected]
Web: sammyrae.com
A&R: Tom Gates, [email protected]
The triumph story of Brooklyn-based indie singer-songwriter Sammy Rae—born as Samantha Bowers—has come to fruition thanks to her experience as bandleader. Yes, you heard that right. At age 19, Rae left her small town of Derby, CT and moved to New York to pursue music and songwriting. During a frustrating time of working odd jobs and feeling like she wasn't moving forward, Rae began to sharpen her craft by going to open mics, sessions and meeting fellow musicians.
“Now and then I would sing covers and they would say 'Hey, you know you’re pretty good, you have originals? I wanna get involved' or
'I hear you're looking for a sax player, here’s my friend.’” This inspired Rae to create an ensemble of talented musicians and friends known as
“We get to keep the majority of what we’re making.”
“The Friends.” Complete with a rhythm section, horn section, keyboards and two backup singers, Sammy Rae & The Friends eventually caught the eye of Doug Shaw from Wilspro Management, who quickly started working on trying to find her some financial support.
“A couple of offers came through, but the companies were either not very developed yet or we just thought they weren’t great deals. When the Nettwerk Music Group deal came through, it just seemed like the perfect option for us,” says Rae.
She credits the companies pro-artist stance as the main reason why she accepted the offer. “They were very generous,” Rae recounts. “For instance, merch isn't taken from us so we get to keep the majority of what we’re making. They are also very supportive in terms of helping with getting us on the road. It was very clear when it came through that it was the right move for us.”
With a full team backing her up, Rae is now working on new music. Her latest single “Denim Jacket,” a soulful pop song about overcoming self-consciousness and social anxiety, is now out on most streaming platforms. In addition, Sammy Rae and The Friends are busy preparing to go on a headlining tour through the East Coast in February 2020, followed by a West Coast run supporting Ripe (The Band).
“This is very much a network, no pun intended, a network of people we have around us. We’re all friends and it’s all oriented around common goals and we’re all excited," says Rae. – Jacqueline Naranjo
