Lake Street Dive and Sammy Rae & The Friends turn Portland into a dance floor

By the time the sun dipped low over Thompson’s Point, the crowd was already moving. Portland’s waterfront venue was buzzing with energy Saturday night as Lake Street Dive returned for their annual summer stop, joined by the high-energy force that is Sammy Rae & The Friends. What unfolded was a dance party that shows why it’s Lake Street Dive’s favorite stop on their tour.

Sammy Rae & The Friends kick things off

If any band felt destined to share a stage with Lake Street Dive, it’s Sammy Rae & The Friends. Their blend of theatricality, unshakable grooves, and open-hearted warmth makes them the perfect counterpart. On this night, Sammy Rae leaned heavily on material from last month’s covers album, Songs We Wish We Wrote with their version of The Zutons’ “Valerie” drawing some of the night’s loudest early cheers.

Still, they made room for originals like “Jackie Onassis” and the crowd-pleasing “Thieves,” proving they don’t need borrowed material to hold attention. Sammy Rae herself, ever the charismatic ringleader, bantered freely with the crowd, at one point declaring Portland one of her favorite cities, thanks in part to the International Cryptozoology Museum just across the street. In an interview earlier that day – coming soon – she half-joked she could’ve talked about Bigfoot for an hour if not for the whole “having to play a show” thing.

Despite the early set time, the band played to a packed field, fans pressed forward and sung every word. Portland clearly showed up not just for the headliners, but for the whole night.

Lake Street Dive bring the joy

Lake Street Dive have been at this for more than a decade, and yet their shows still feel as sharp, fresh, and celebratory as the first time you saw them in a club. Saturday proved no exception. Their set quickly turned the waterfront into a full-on hootenanny: kids on shoulders, couples spinning each other in the grass, and enough thirty-somethings cutting loose that no one felt remotely self-conscious.

The band’s tight musicianship has long been their calling card, but it’s the communal spirit that makes their concerts something special. Even security guards were spotted fully dancing along at the barricade. It might sound like I’m making it up, but Portland is that kind of place.

Midway through the set, Sammy Rae & The Friends returned to the stage for a cover of Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out,” a collaboration that felt as natural as it was fun. The two bands linked up again during the first of Lake Street Dive’s two encores, delivering their signature take on Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl.” The night ended with “Good Kisser,” a perfect closer that sent the crowd home both breathless and grinning ear to ear.

Frontwoman Rachael Price remarked that Portland is always among their favorite stops of the year. Watching thousands of fans lit by string lights, food carts slinging lobster rolls, and music pulsing out over the bay, it wasn’t hard to see why.

The verdict

Lake Street Dive shows are reliably joyous, but pairing them with Sammy Rae & The Friends feels like a booking that borders on genius. The chemistry was undeniable, the energy nonstop, and the sense of shared community impossible to fake. For one summer night in Portland, even the skeptics couldn’t help but dance.

This show was shot for The Concert Chronicles. You can view the original article here.