It’s probably safe to say that the blues world never saw Samantha Fish (www.samanthafish.com) coming.
The 35-year-old emerged from the historic Kansas City, Missouri, music scene 20 years ago with her ample vocal chops, heady songwriting and incendiary guitar playing, aided since by an attention-grabbing pinup gal sense of fashion. She’s appeared on a dozen albums, most on the Ruf or Rounder recording imprints, and earned a Grammy nomination while racking up dozens of independent blues awards since 2017.
Along with keyboardist Mickey Finn, bassist Ron Johnson and drummer Jamie Douglass, Fish closes the two-day Boca Blues Festival at Sunset Cove Ampitheater in Boca Raton on Sunday. The Saturday headliner is Louisiana-born fellow singing guitar firebrand Tab Benoit, and the event also features guitarist/vocalists in Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Ray Fuller & the Bluesrockers, Ally Venable, John Primer, and Florida’s own Selwyn Birchwood; saxophonists Vanessa Collier and Jimmy Carpenter, and blues icon Muddy Waters’ son, singer Mud Morganfield.
Fish’s performance follows a lengthy European tour, plus a handful of preceding shows to celebrate a leg of Ruf Records’ 30th anniversary tour through Ohio, Illinois and Virginia.
“It’s going really great,” Fish said in mid-October as her European tour entered its final week. “We just completed the U.K. portion, and are now moving into the E.U. The vibe is always different, but appreciative and enthusiastic. It varies country to country. America varies as well. East Coast, West Coast, the South, Midwest, the mountains; big cities, small towns. This all factors into how an audience might engage. I feel like through whatever small or significant differences we might have, the audience wants to have an experience. They want to have fun. It’s my job to figure out what that means.”
It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure. Fish has been reading audiences, and blending blues, rock, and roots music influences, since her teenaged years in the Kansas City scene. A self-titled independent release at age 20 gained the attention of Thomas Ruf, who founded his self-titled German recording label 30 years ago with the motto of “where the blues crosses over.”
“Thomas gave me my start in the recording industry,” Fish says. “He gave me the freedom to find myself as an artist early on. I am just so happy to be able to honor the label and the artists that have flourished there.”
Those artists include blues singer/guitarist Luther Allison (1939-1997), whose music Ruf founded the label to promote while managing him, and Canned Heat, the venerable roots-rockers accompanying Fish on the label’s anniversary tour dates. She’s come a long way since her first Ruf release, a 2011 compilation album called Girls With Guitars that also featured Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde.
Buddy Guy, the 88-year-old singer/guitarist and blues icon who’s influenced scores of roots music and rock guitarists, learned first-hand not to dismiss someone based on an album title stereotype. His skepticism of the youthful Fish got turned upside-down after he got talked into letting her sit in during one of his concerts in 2013.
“When this kind of s** happens,” a beaming Guy declared over the microphone during their jam, “I’ll play all night!”
Having recorded most recently for Rounder Records, Fish’s three releases for the label are the bluesy Kill or Be Kind (2019), rocking Faster (2021), and rootsy, Grammy-nominated Death Wish Blues (2023) with fellow singing guitarist Jesse Dayton. That trio alone illustrates her open mind and dexterity.
“I see myself as an artist with a strong foundation in American roots, blues, and rock ’n’ roll,” says Fish, “but I am always evolving and changing. I’m looking for the next spark of inspiration. If I’m not challenging myself, then I’m not doing my job. I won’t ever stop trying to push the boundaries of who I am and what I expect from myself.”
Asked to name her prime songwriting influences, the rising star cites pop and folk wordsmiths Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt. Guitarists? Bluesmen Freddie King, Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside; rockers Keith Richards, Angus Young and Mike Campbell, unique instrumental voices all. Vocalists? Heartful soul icons Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Orlando-born Betty Harris. Fish indeed seems to have a soft spot for Florida, frequenting the state with tour dates that include a forthcoming New Year’s Eve date at Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater.
“It’s a beautiful place,” she says of the Sunshine State, “and the people that come to our shows are dedicated music fans. I’m happy to be wrapping the year with them.”
So will Fish play her early or recent bluesy originals in Boca; rockers from Faster, material from Death Wish Blues, or perhaps her fiery recent cover of “I Put a Spell On You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins?
“Anything’s possible,” she says. “I’ll have more of a plan the closer we get to the show.”
No fish story there.
If You Go
Samantha Fish closes the second night of the two-day Boca Blues Festival at Sunset Cove Ampitheater, 20405 Ampitheater Circle, Boca Raton.
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 17
Tickets: $50
Info: 772-492-6105, www.bocabluesfest.com