While the sun was setting, the energy in the crowd was humming in anticipation for Sammy Rae & The Friends to walk out on stage. A couple of risers set in front of the backline of The Avett Brothers clued us into a Keys station, and tightly arranged drum kit, and a couple of saxophone stations. Looking around scattered amongst the obvious TAB fans wearing their favorite band shirts were solid green shirts with yellow lettering on them saying “I want to be friends with ya.” With zero expectations other than a couple of people I talked to saying they were a good band, I waited for them to deliver.

The band came jogging out to their positions with an energy that only emphasized the crowd’s aforementioned hum. To cheers, they kicked off into a pop/jazz sound dominated by the keys and saxophones. The electric guitar player filling in the spaces in between the brass and ivory and the bass player riffing funky lines underneath it all. The drummer locked into syncopations so well that it seemed quite effortless. The Brooklyn New York band bounced around on stage with Sammy Rae leading the charge. Her positive energy was a force to go along with her pin-point accurate vocals. She jumped around on stage, kicking and dancing her way through the songs. The intricate vocal runs matched the dexterous melodies and rhythms coming from each band member through the 40-minute set.

Playing three up-tempo songs to start the set, they opened with one of their most played Spotify songs “Talk It Up” with La La La’s sprinkled through the song by the rest of the band singing the background vocals. Keeping the energy up they transitioned into “We Made It” which had a Samba-type feel and some crowd participation singing “It’s All Good”. “Luck of the Draw” featured saxophone solos, a breakdown with tambourines being played by Sammy and the other saxophone player on either side of the stage. The drummer’s ride cymbal stand gave out and fell down but the drummer just continued to play the cymbal while laughing and enjoying himself. It really felt like a real-life example of the positive message Sammy and the Friends intend to express through their music.

They played a ballad called "David," which is an unreleased track that is set to come out on their September album. The fans of Sammy Rae & The Friends seemed to be really in the know and singing along. I wasn't able to catch all of the lyrics so the mystery has me excited for their upcoming album. They kicked into a cover of the Tears For Fears hit “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” with an A Capella first verse and then brought the pop styling back to carry the song. The Keys player took the lead on the vocals for the bridge followed by a sax solo, flute solo, and acoustic guitar arpeggiating solo. All the while, Sammy is jumping around as the hype person for each member during their solo.

They played the last two songs showcasing the wholesome party the friends carry with them. Each member took a solo in the second to last song, which brought out the Keytar for the keys solo. The final song was titled “Coming Home Song” which showcased a monster of a chorus melody that is sure to gain traction as more people get to become more familiar with Sammy Rae & The Friends. As they finished their set, Sammy delivered the band’s over-arching message they want to express through their gifts. “Go put a smile on somebody’s face. Let someone know they have a place in this world. That you want to be friends with them.” With that the crowd cheered, the last notes were struck, the band lined up for a bow, handed out set lists to front rowers, and started to tear down their gear as the house music came on for the intermission and changeover.

The sun set and the stage lights were required by the time The Avett Brothers took the stage. With a mic in the center of the stage, Seth and Scott gathered around it. They started with the vocal prelude for "Never Apart" where they wrap their vocal lines around each other in a melodic chant style. The band then drops into the slowly swaying song following the lead of Seth Avett with his Signature Martin D-35 and his smooth vocal lines. Scott Avett adds harmony and a lazily rolling banjo melody. The band fills out with Joe Kwon on cello, Tanya Elizabeth on Violin, Bonnie Avett playing keys, Bob Crawford playing bass, and Mike Marsh on the drums. Tanya and Scott weave together their instruments to make a solo just before the end of the song.

As the crowd cheers, Scott sheds the banjo and heads to the keys on stage right and the band kicks into “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise.” Seth prowls around the stage hyping the crowd while his older brother sings the first verse. As the chorus hits, the lights outlining the icons hanging behind the stage come on at the downbeat. Seth and Scott trade verses attempting to sing over the crowd. TAB has created an atmosphere at their shows that invites the audience to sing along with them. The average TAB fan is no ordinary fan. Most of them have seen them perform more than just a casual few times like most bands. I wouldn’t consider myself an above-average fan and I have seen them roughly 15 times. So, most folks there are singing back those words not because they want to, it’s because they had to.

The band transitions straight into “Trouble Letting Go.” After that is the banjo opening to “Paranoia in Bb” an older favorite for any Avett fan I have ever met. The crowd responds as such while matching every word Scott sings. "Straight out of Paranoia" is the banjo riff to start “Live and Die,” another fan favorite. Only after this song is when they say hello. Scott exchanged his banjo for a tobacco burst Les Paul for the song “Orian’s Belt.” Bob traded his upright bass for a matching tobacco Fender bass. The straight-ahead folk rock song was a treat to hear done live. It matched the album version quite well.

As the band played through another fan favorite “Shame,” the crowd sang along while fireworks burst northeast of the venue on the Cincinnati side. Teal and green crisscrossing stage lights rivaled the colors of the fireworks. Seth shed his Martin acoustic guitar for a solid red Les Paul to play a Doc Watson fiddle tune named “Black Mountain Rag.” As Seth took center stage, Scott played claw hammer banjo. The fiddle played a section as well. It was really cool to see that song done on a Les Paul guitar. Seth swapped out the red LP for Dale Earnhardt #3 matte black LP with red binding to play “Love of A Girl.” Heavy distortion led the charge of the rock and roll song that has a little flavor of punk rock. They played “Forever Now” just after to slow things down with a ballad off of the new album. Scott took the wireless mic to explore the stage while Bonnie gave a synth solo.

A microphone was then set center stage for the two brothers and Bob to gather around again to do a more stripped-down version of some songs reminiscent of the earlier years when it was just the three of them as the band. They praised Bob and the crowd lit up just before starting “I Wish I Was.” They followed that with “Backward With Time” which is a fairly rare song to land on a setlist. Then Tanya Elizabeth stepped out as a soloist for her rendition of two traditional fiddle tunes “Le Reel Du Pendue” or “The Hangman’s Reel” and “Les Barres De La Prison” or “The Bars of the Prison.” These are Canadian and Creole traditional fiddle tunes. This always gets a big response from the crowd as she works the 4 strings of the fiddle. It gives Scott and Seth a chance to catch their breath and showcase the amazing artistry on stage with them. As the band returned on stage, Seth complimented the crowd on their clapping rhythm with Tanya saying “Y’all’s rhythm is on point!” He shared that at times the crowd's rhythm can get bad enough that they feel for Tanya having to fight against it when playing.

Piano and guitar started the riff to “Laundry Room” as the crowd became the loudest them have been all night. It is very easily a contender for unanimous top 3 songs from almost every Avett fan, generally speaking! As the band hit the breakdown of the bridge, the stage lights hit a spiraling mirror ball sending a whirl of lights around the stage and beyond. Another older favorite followed as brothers tore through the first verse spoken word lyrics of “Talk on Indolence.” Seth put down the guitar this time to venture over to the piano to play a moving piece to introduce the favorite every person came to sing along to, “I and Love and You.” Three fingers raised into the air as the crowd led the hook of the song singing the three words.

Scott grabbed a Martin parlor guitar and played “Murder in the City” solo. His fingerpicking plays the turnaround melody so classic and recognizable. Seth put the red Les Paul back on to lead the dark-toned “Vanity” while Scott played keys. Seth played a solo to end the song and kicked right into “Kick Drum Heart,” a live high-energy favorite. Seth played another solo that felt inspired by Black Sabbath. The band brought it down for the song “Cheap Coffee” with synth from Bonnie leading the intro and Scott playing a 335-style guitar with an ebow. It finished with a recording of Scott talking with his child about the magnitude of numbers which related to the meaning of the song about how life moves at a pace faster than we want as parents.

As Bonnie, Tanya, and Joe came up to the front line without their instruments, the rhythm section dropped into “Ain’t No Man.” Everyone clapping and singing along onstage and in the crowd while Scott and Seth led their final song of the set. They waved, said goodnight, went off stage, and waited as the house lights failed to come on. The crowd buzzed at a higher level than before until they could see the band come back out on stage and greet them once again.

Scott, Seth, and Bob came back out to the center mic to sing a very unexpected but well-received version of Toby Keith’s “I Ain’t As Good As I Once Was” after telling a story about watching him sing at a Nashville event and becoming aware of what a force he was on stage. It was a great tribute to a songwriting legend who passed away of cancer this year. They introduced the next song saying they may not know how to play it because it is such an old and rare song for them to play. They made it through “Sanguine” with just a couple of minor misses, but there were no criticisms for that because of what a treat it was to hear that song live. The band first played that song in 2006, and since then has only played it 47 other times according to www.db.nov.blue. That is one of the more rare songs, especially comparing to a song like “Murder in the City” that has been played 804 times over that same general timeframe.

The band came back to play the David Childers song “Prettiest Thing” that The Avett Brothers have really made their own. Scott played the harmonica all over the song while almost the whole band sang along. Bob Crawford took a verse and received the loudest ovation from the crowd.

The band gave their final goodbyes, thanked Sammy Rae & The Friends for being the openers, and then played “No Hard Feelings” to finish the night. As the moon rose over the river, the band played the final song as almost everyone swayed back and forth and held their person if they came with one, taking in the grace and beauty of that song. There isn’t a better way to end a night like that than singing back the hope of “I have no enemies” as one big collective.