Image Courtesy of Sammy Rash

By MaggieMae Dethlefsen

Singer Sammy Rash came to D.C. to kick off his Let’s Be Friends Tour on Wednesday, September 13. This is his first headlining tour, with eight stops in the U.S. He started uploading snippets of songs that he was working on to TikTok and then releasing the full song later on streaming platforms. 

 Rash talked about how music wasn’t something that he was actively pursuing three years prior, but he wanted to start pursuing it full-time. He said that he just started doing it,trained his voice, and practiced hard to improve. This is why he always promotes the message of chasing your dreams no matter what others tell you because although you might not be good at it now,, you can become good at it.

Although he had performed as an opener for other artists before, this was the first time he was the main event. Opening for him for this tour was the band Hey Good Problem. They are a small band from New York City that is entering the music scene similarly to Sammy Rash. They post music to TikTok before announcing the release date for the full version of the song on music platforms later. Their set was a calmer set of five to six songs. Their music was slower and acoustic, with the exception of two songs they played, which were more upbeat and unreleased tracks.  

Performing at the DC9 Nightclub,  Rash performed at least 15 songs from the start of his career to the present. The intimate venue felt more personal, which made the experience so much better. You could interact with him during the performance and at the meet and greet after the concert, which was open to all attendees. His mix of upbeat music and acoustic slower songs was well crafted, and the transitions between the two different vibes were smoother. His stage presence was engaging and personal, as he talked and interacted with the crowd throughout the show, which made the experience more interactive for the crowd.

He performed his most popular hits such as: “Let’s Be Friends,” “Lead Me On,” “Smile More,” and “Summer & Cigarettes.” During his tour, he will be traveling with a different set list at all of his stops along the way. Leading up to the tour, fans could message him on Instagram to give suggestions for what songs they would like to hear at their specific date and location. He put the suggestions in to surprise the fans who made them. During this tour, he also surprisingly released “Are you still up?” to add to the fun and excitement of the tour. 

Image Courtesy of  MaggieMae Dethlefsen

Overall, the concert, atmosphere, and performance made the concert a wonderful experience, especially for the first headliner show. Given that this was the first time he was the main event, Rash gave an amazing experience to the audience. 

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