Marisha Wallace and Sammy Rae & The Friends Added to KEW THE MUSIC 2024

Further support artists have been announced as part of Kew The Music 2024. The annual week-long festival of picnic concerts is set in the stunning UNESCO World Heritage site, Kew Gardens in south west London, and has become one of the fixtures in the London summer music calendar.

Established as one of the most spectacular summer concert venues in the UK, the shows are a hit amongst all generations of music lovers. Unusually for outdoor events, guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink or can enjoy the open-air bars and street food stalls.

Sammy Rae & The Friends have been announced as special guests for MIKA’s show on Tuesday 9th July, whilst Marisha Wallace will join Asa on the line-up supporting Beverley Knight for her show on Saturday 13th July.

Sammy Rae & The Friends are a Jazz-Pop septet formed in Brooklyn, New York, whose all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie ignites their unforgettable and can’t-miss live shows. Fronted by singer/songwriter Sammy Rae and honed through years of touring, the group is capable of flourishing in any spotlight thanks to its signature blend of palpable chemistry, deft virtuosity, and vocal fireworks.

Their sound, which has attracted new fans by the thousands in the past few years, is a unique mélange of Sammy’s influences: classic rock, folk and funk, sprinkled with soul and jazz. Rae has been building toward this moment since moving to NYC from Connecticut in her early 20s. Finding herself without a built-in peer group, she simply built it herself: the literal and proverbial Friends. When she started playing shows, she made sure the audience was part of the family too. 

Everything that’s happened since, from the EPs The Good Life (2018) and Let’s Throw a Party (2021) to sold-out shows in major markets and secondary markets alike across North American and the UK & Europe, to high-profile festival sets around the world, including Bonnaroo’s main stage, Sound on Sound, Green River Fest and more, has been based on friends telling friends. This year, they’ll take it up a notch with appearances at All Things Go and Holland’s North Sea Jazz fest.

Singer, actor and songwriter Marisha Wallace is a multi-Olivier Award-nominated Broadway and West End sensation, best known for starring in Guys and Dolls, Dreamgirls, Oklahoma, Waitress, Aladdin and Hairspray. Marisha will be performing at this year’s Olivier Awards, where she is nominated for Best Actress in a musical.

She’s topped the music charts with her cover of Annie’s Tomorrow which was released at the height of the pandemic to raise funds for performers out of work. The song was playlisted on BBC Radio 2 and she released her subsequent album Tomorrow to critical acclaim.

Most recently, Marisha took part in Celebrity Big Brother.

KEW THE MUSIC 2024

Monday 8th July - An Evening in Conversation with Monty Don
Tuesday 9th July - MIKA plus Special Guests Sammy Rae & The Friends 
Wednesday 10th July - Ronan Keating plus guests TBA 
Thursday 11th July - Passenger plus Gabrielle Aplin 
Friday 12th July - JLS plus Tinchy Stryder
Saturday 13th July - Beverley Knight plus Asa & Marisha Wallace
Sunday 14th July - An Evening with Richard Ashcroft plus Jamie Webster + Callum Beattie

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