Samantha Fish

By: Lori Smerilson Carson | Photos: Doug Hardesty & Aries Photography NOLA

For many years now, blues Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter Samantha Fish has maintained her world renown status as a phenomenal musician, but she is still very much connected to her mid-western roots and values. Since her first LP LIVE BAIT released in 2009, she has been going strong, collaborating with many other globally esteemed musicians like Jesse Dayton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Tab Benoit. She has received many accolades winning Independent Blues Awards and Blues Music Awards, as well as receiving two Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

She currently is touring in Europe, but Florida fans will have the opportunity to experience her new show April 8th in Palm Beach at Glazer Hall, April 9th in Melbourne at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts, April 10th in Miramar Beach at the Joe Bonamassa Beach Weekend, April 11th in Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre, April 12th in St. Petersburg at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival 2026, and April 16th in Gainesville at the Heartwood Soundstage.

Catching up with Fish just prior to her U.K. tour, she revealed some details about the new show, her music, her second Grammy experience, and what fans can look forward to.

SFL Music Magazine: What can fans look forward to with the new show that you are touring all over Florida starting with the newly renovated Glazer Hall?
Samantha Fish: Well, we’re still supporting my newest record PAPER DOLL which just came out last springtime. We’ve just been shedding the hell out of it, and I got nominated for a Grammy, so kind of coming off the high of that. Revisiting some places. We still haven’t performed these songs in every market or anything like that. So, we’re pretty well refined at this point with what the show is and how to pull it off. It’s a lot of songs from the new album. It’s some old favorites that I know our hard-core fans would demand, and it’s also an energetic show. It’s got a lot of drama and dynamics. I try to take people on a trip. I’m not trying to beat you over the head all night long with the same tempo and intensity. I’m trying to kind of build a show that’s an experience and dynamic and engaging. So, I guess what people can expect is a lot of guitar, catchy, I think they’re catchy songs. I’m sure there’s a hipper word for that. I try to write songs that are memorable that have good hooks, but we go up there and we play our asses off. We’re covered in sweat. Hopefully the audience is when we’re done too.

SFL Music Magazine: The album has a great variety of songs. The song “Sweet Southern Sounds”, the guitar riffs and the groove with the belting at the end, adding a tempo pickup, and then “I’m Done Runnin’” is your bluesy, rockin’ sound. What would you say inspired those songs and the album?
Fish: Well, “Sweet Southern Sounds” lyrically is kind of about the balancing act that is living your life in one way and trying to have your life another way as well. I say it like that because I feel like it’s something probably all of us can relate to. You don’t have to be a touring musician who leaves and has personal problems, right? Everybody has these kinds of issues and balance. Like too much of yourself in one way and then trying to real it back in and desperately trying to have this other element to your life. That was the lyrical, kind of the basic for that. Musically, I kind of started with a north hill country riff like a Junior Kimbrough-esc riff, and then we did that whole intensity building speed up at the end. That was just something we worked in at the studio. We thought it would be a really cool place to take that song. You know, somewhere unexpected. “I’m Done Runnin’” is one of the only songs that I brought from an older set of songs. Bobby (Harlow), my producer, really, really loved it. He was like “Why haven’t you recorded this yet?” I’m like, I don’t know. It hadn’t fit anything but that song it’s weird because it was during lockdown, and I think I was writing from a perspective of wanting to feel more empowered than I did. So, I was writing optimistically about facing problems and having some kind of control. Now, five years later, after all that had passed, it sort of comes with a different meaning. That’s the cool thing about songs is that they mean different things to you at different times. So, lyrically that one’s kind of shifted for me, but the song itself, it’s short. I think it’s like three minutes long. I just wanted to layer hook after hook after hook on top of each other just to create ear worms. I think that one can be kind of empowering in a way. I think people like that one because it makes them feel all the things I was wanting to feel when I wrote it (she laughed).

SFL Music Magazine: Would you say there may be a theme with the album?
Fish: Well, it’s a collection of stuff, but I would say the theme I went with was, you know PAPER DOLL is the name of the record and that song itself is kind of like a defiance anthem. I feel as women, we are sort of thrust into this myriad of roles that we’re expected to do not only all the time, but really well, and people have expectations. I feel like we are constantly walking this tight rope like you’re falling short of yourself and you’re not taking care of yourself, and that song is just sort of a rejection to society’s roles that it wants to place on you. So, I felt that strong feminine defiance sort of is like a through line to everything else on the record. It’s just sort of a through line to me because like, what the hell am I doing out here? Little lady playing guitar, right? I’m saying that with some sarcasm.

SFL Music Magazine: I know. I hear ya!
Fish: Ok. But it just felt like that was a through line for a lot of my work, and I feel like that kind of covered the album in a way.

SFL Music Magazine: You’re getting ready to go to England, and I was informed that you just returned from your first tour in Japan. How was that?
Fish: It was awesome! It’s kind of a lifelong dream to go over there and to be able to perform for those audiences. I got to say, they totally lived up to every hype, every expectation that I had in my heart. They showed up, and there were some people who came to every single show. So, it’s like really dedicated, incredible people who I felt bad because some people said, “we’ve been waiting eight years for you to come here.” It’s awesome! It’s great to kind of have that like waiting for you. It makes me wonder what other pockets of the world are waiting. Where are we going next? It’s also a place, a market, a territory that I want to continue to build and nurture and growing. So, I’m hoping we can continue to go back there. Also, the food is incredible, and I just want to go be a tourist.

SFL Music Magazine: I heard that they keep everything very clean.
Fish: It is insane the amount of cleanliness. It’s the third largest city in the world, right? Like, imagine that. I think New York is number twenty-two. There’s not a trash can in sight, so in America that means that we would throw our shit on the ground. We’re disgusting, right? Over there, they just put their trash in their pocket and take it home with them. I’m like what? That’s crazy! But it’s the societal norm to be kind and polite. I’m like, that’s nuts (She laughed)!

SFL Music Magazine: Of course we were pulling for you with the Grammys. What was that experience like? Did you find it to be intense or were people just enjoying the night and relaxing?
Fish: Once we lost it was enjoyable (she laughed). I mean, there’s like fifteen minutes of disappointment. I’m like, oh man, I really thought we were going to get it, but Robert (Randolph), I mean he’s been in the game a long time. He had a fantastic record and everybody in that category (Best Contemporary Blues Album) had been nominated multiple times and had never won. It was really anybody’s game, and he is absolutely so deserving. There was a part of me before they announced the category, I was nervous and so jittery and it was like, God, can we just get this over with? No matter what happens, there’s the not knowing, and once it was over and I had my little moment of ohhh shit, you know, whatever. Once that was all over, I felt like it’s great, it’s relaxing, it’s fun. Honestly, some news sight was releasing the winners as it was coming across, and I was looking for the winner of a category. I started just noticing all the nominees and then they had the winners in bold. I’m like God, every person nominated or winners, they’re all incredible! It really is such an honor to be considered in that number of musicians. So, that should put everything into perspective. It’s just an honor to really be in the room. I had a great time. I mean, once my nerves subsided it was like can we get this part over with? It was great!

SFL Music Magazine: That was your second, so the third time is the charm?
Fish: We’ll see. It just depends. I really do think that the nomination is so special because that’s when they’re really considering the art of what you did. Is this album enough of this genre? Is it good enough? So, to me that’s pretty massive. I’m happy with whatever comes, really.

SFL Music Magazine: In that vein with your years of experience making albums and working with world renown musicians who have complimented you, what would you say attributes to your success and longevity?
Fish: Probably the numerous failures that prop up those successes. It’s like a tenacity. You see the successes, but there’s a lot of failure behind it that continues to propel. You have to keep trying at things. A lot of it doesn’t work, but you have to just keep pushing through it. I’m from the mid-west, so I think we’re definitely known there for our work ethic, and I’ve always been a really hard worker and really dedicated to whatever I was doing. Whether I was delivering pizzas or writing songs. I’m really focused when it comes to work. So, I do think it’s hard to look at things objectively sometimes. I hear a lot of people say stuff like “oh, you’ve had like a really quick rise.” Objectively, I think on the outside it looks like that, but when you’re in it and you’re doing it every single day you see little wins. You see little failures. You see little leaps forward. You see a couple steps backwards. I think for me personally, it’s just I’ve really had a strong belief in what I’m doing and just worked really, really hard at it. Through the setbacks you just keep pushing forward. I think that is why we are where we are, and also luck (she laughed). That’s a big component to it as well. When you start looking at things objectively, you’re like holy shit! There are so many talented people in the world. I’m really lucky to even be here. I think it’s just a mixture of all that.

SFL Music Magazine: What type of advice would you give to a new artist?
Fish: I think in this world what works is what makes you unique. You don’t want to chase trends because then you’re just chasing something that’s already been done, and that’s not really going to set you apart. I mean, I understand why we do these trends on TikTok and stuff. It’s like to get lots of views, but whatever. For a young artist you’ve got to figure out and that is going to require an objective mind and kind of an ego death in a way. It’s like what makes you unique compared to the legion of guitar players or bass players or songwriters? Like what makes you unique as an entertainer that’s going to make you stand out from all these other people? And when you figure that out, you’ve got to lean into it really hard and hope and work your ass off. That’s it!

SFL Music Magazine: That is good advice.
Fish: Well, I hope it works for somebody. I don’t know. There’s a lot of unpredictable elements to it.

SFL Music Magazine: In June you are releasing a live album and there is a video for “Kick Out the Jams” (by MC5). What inspired this new live album and will there be any new videos?
Fish: They came out and recorded the show, and they filmed the show. So, we should be releasing some videos along with the live record, but really the inspiration behind it was first, my fans have been asking for it for a long time, and it’s not that I’ve just been denying it outright. It’s just that it wasn’t the right time, circumstances were changing, I was doing something else. Since then, I recorded an album with my road band PAPER DOLLS it just felt like the right time to lean in and do the show. To me it’s the most appropriate show that works for a live record. The songs were kind of tailored and designed for the live stage. It was with the band. The circumstances just aligned to this is the time to do that. I don’t know. Part of it’s we want to make people happy. I feel like we have a lot of fans who just have been really vocal about wanting that, and you know, give them what they want!

SFL Music Magazine: As far as you playing various places in Florida, is there anything in particular you are looking forward to being back?
Fish: Yeah! First of all, I love the people! We have really wonderful music fans there. I feel like because the weather is so nice you all get out a little bit more. Florida loves blues music and I think they tolerate my version of it somewhat.

SFL Music Magazine: They love you. I hear they are very excited about your new show!
Fish: It’s just great to play to people who, they look forward to it early on and we don’t really get down there all that much. Maybe like once every two years. Once every other year. It’s always a great time and I always look forward to the fish tacos or grouper sandwich or something. You guys have good food down there. I love the seafood.

SFL Music Magazine: Is there anything else fans can look forward to with the new show?
Fish: It’s a snapshot of where we are right now. For me, it’s what I try to achieve with a live performance. I put out a lot of energy. The whole band does. Everybody is covered in sweat by the end of it. Really for me it’s like live music is about this community. It’s about this transfer of energy. It’s about connection. If you’re coming out to a live show, if you’re connected with the music, you’re listening to the words, in a way it can kind of therapeutic, cathartic. I don’t want to throw those words out and scare people off, but to me that’s what live music has always been is connection. Under the guise of all that, I try to put on a really energetic, dynamic performance that takes people on a trip and try to create something fun. Something entertaining.