Samantha Fish | |
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 Fish performing in Zürich, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 30, 1989 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
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| Website | www |
Samantha Fish (born January 30, 1989) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. While often cited as a blues artist, Fish's work features and draws from multiple genres, including rock, country, funk, bluegrass, and ballads.
Fish grew up in the Kansas City area, and started out playing the drums, but switched to guitar when she was 15. Fish's mother was the instructor in a local church choir, and her father played guitar with friends. Initially hearing recordings of Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan, she later heard music from Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones and cites the Stones' album Sticky Fingers as an early influence. She and her sister were both drawn towards blues music in their teenage years. [2]
Fish regularly went to the Knuckleheads Saloon to hear touring blues artists. After turning 18, she often joined in with the singers and bands who were performing there. [3] [4]
In 2009, Fish recorded and produced Live Bait. The live album attracted the attention of a talent company, who recommended her to Ruf Records. [3] Ruf Records put together a record with Fish and two other female blues artists, Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde, titled Girls with Guitars. The three guitarists then toured on the Ruf Records 2011 Blues Caravan in the U.S. and Europe.[ citation needed ]
Fish continued touring with the Samantha Fish Band, featuring "Go-Go Ray" Pollard on drums and Chris Alexander on bass, playing in Europe and the United States. In 2011, Fish recorded Runaway with the help of her mentor Mike Zito. The album won the 2012 Blues Music Award for Best New Artist. [3]
Fish appeared on Devon Allman's 2013 album Turquoise in a duet covering the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks' song "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around". [5] During the summer of 2013, Fish was called up on stage to play with a skeptical Buddy Guy who was so impressed with her playing on the guitar, he declared with a beaming smile to his audience, "When this kind of shit happens, I'll play all night!" [6]
In 2013, Fish released her second major studio album, Black Wind Howlin', featuring Mike Zito on guitar, Yonrico Scott on drums, Johnny Sansone on harmonica, and Paul Thorn, vocal duet on one track. [3] The album was recorded in Dockside Studios, in Maurice, Louisiana. Zito's bandmates from his group Royal Southern Brotherhood, Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton, were brought in to assist in the session recordings. [4] Also in 2013, Fish appeared on The Healers Live at Knuckleheads Saloon, producing a CD/DVD collaboration with Jimmy Hall, Reese Wynans, Kate Moss, and Danielle and Kris Schnebelen (sister and brother, formerly of the band Trampled Under Foot). Proceeds benefit the Blue Star Connection. The Healers occasionally perform together as their schedule permits.[ citation needed ]
Fish's third studio album, Wild Heart, was released on July 10, 2015. The album is more roots rock than her earlier blues rock.[ citation needed ] Fish wrote five songs on the record. She co-wrote five other songs with Jim McCormick in Nashville, Tennessee. Luther Dickinson produced the album, as well as played various stringed instruments (guitar, bass, mandolin, lap steel) to flesh out the sound. [7] The album was recorded in four studios, Royal Studios and Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi, and Blade Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. [8] Other musicians on the record are Brady Blade (drums), Lightnin' Malcolm (guitar), Shardé Thomas (drums), Dominic Davis (bass), Shontelle Norman-Beatty (background vocals), and Risse Norman (background vocals).[ citation needed ]
Fish released her fourth solo album, Chills & Fever on March 17, 2017. [9] The album was recorded in Detroit and was recorded with members of the band The Detroit Cobras. Bobby Harlow produced the album. [10] Belle of the West followed in December 2017.
Fish released her sixth solo album, Kill or Be Kind , on September 20, 2019, on her new label, Rounder Records. [11] It was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic. [12]
Fish released her seventh solo album, Faster , on September 10, 2021, on Rounder Records. [13] The album was produced by Martin Kierszenbaum, and features drummer Josh Freese and bass player Diego Navaira of The Last Bandoleros. Kansas City area rapper Tech N9ne is featured on the song "Loud". [14]
In 2022, Fish was featured in the documentary short Love Letters: Samantha Fish Live From New Orleans presented by Carl Van Productions in association with Very Productive Pictures and WYES-TV, airing in both 2022 and 2023. [15] [16] [17]
In May 2023, Fish released the collaborative album Death Wish Blues (Rounder Records) with Jesse Dayton, and the pair set forth on an extensive tour schedule throughout the US, UK, and Europe. Supporting them on the UK leg of their tour was Canadian roots rock band The Commoners. [18] Death Wish Blues was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards. [19]
Her older sister, Amanda Fish, is a singer-songwriter as well and a multi-instrumentalist [20] who has recorded for VizzTone Records. [21]
| Title | Year | Artist | Label | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Bait | 2009 | The Samantha Fish Blues Band | The Samantha Fish Blues Band | Steve McBride |
| Girls with Guitars | 2011 | Samantha Fish / Cassie Taylor / Dani Wilde | Ruf | Mike Zito |
| Runaway | 2011 | Samantha Fish | Ruf | Mike Zito |
| Girls with Guitars Live CD/DVD | 2012 | Samantha Fish / Dani Wilde / Victoria Smith | Ruf | Uwe Treskatis, Thomas Ruf |
| Black Wind Howlin' | 2013 | Samantha Fish | Ruf | Mike Zito |
| The Healers (CD/DVD) | 2013 | Jimmy Hall / Reese Wynans / Samantha Fish / Kate Moss / Danielle Schnebelen / Kris Schnebelen | Blue Star Connection | Stellar Press |
| Wild Heart [22] | 2015 | Samantha Fish | Ruf | Luther Dickinson |
| Chills & Fever | 2017 | Samantha Fish | Ruf | Bobby Harlow |
| Belle of the West | 2017 | Samantha Fish | Ruf | Luther Dickinson |
| Kill or Be Kind | 2019 | Samantha Fish | Rounder | Scott Billington |
| Faster | 2021 | Samantha Fish | Rounder | Martin Kierszenbaum |
| Death Wish Blues | 2023 | Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton | Rounder | Jon Spencer |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Contemporary Blues Album | Chills & Fever | Won | [23] |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year | Won | [24] |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Artist of the Year | Won | [25] | |
| Best Independent Blues Contemporary CD | Wild Heart | Won | [25] | |
| Best Independent Female Blues Artist | Won | [25] | ||
| Road Warrior Award | Won | [25] | ||
| Best Modern Roots Song | "Go Home" | Won | [25] | |
| 2017 | Best Independent Female Blues Artist | Won | [26] | |
| Road Warrior Award | Won | [26] | ||
| 2018 | Best Modern Roots CD | Belle of the West | Won | [27] |
| Best Independent Female Blues Artist | Nominated | [27] | ||
| Best Independent Blues-Soul Artist | Won | [27] | ||
| Independent Blues Artist Gateway Award | Nominated | [27] | ||
| Best Independent Blues Stage Performance | Won | [27] | ||
| Road Warrior Award | Won | [27] | ||
| Best Contemporary Blues Song | "Don't Say You Love Me" | Nominated | [27] | |
| Best Song for the Common Good | "American Dream" | Won | [27] | |
| 2020 | Artist of the Year | Won | [28] | |
| Best Independent Female Blues Artist | Won | [28] | ||
| Independent Blues-Soul Artist | Won | [28] | ||
| Best Independent Blues R&B/Soul CD | Kill or Be Kind | Won | [28] | |
| Best Modern Roots Song | "Kill or Be Kind" | Won | [28] | |
| Best Music Video | "Kill or Be Kind" | Nominated | [28] | |
| Best Music Engineer/Producer | Won | [28] | ||
| Independent Blues Artist Gateway Award | Won | [28] | ||
| Road Warrior Award | Won | [28] | ||
| 2021 | Gateway Artist | Won | [29] | |
| 2022 | Best Music Video | "Twisted Ambition" | Won | [30] |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Readers' Poll: Blues Artist of the Year (Female) | Won | [31] |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Best Blues Band or Performer | Won | [32] | |
| Best Blues Album | Belle of the West | Won | [32] | |
| 2018 | Artist of the Year | Won | [32] | |
| Best Blues Band or Performer | Won | [32] | ||
| Best Female Vocalist | Won | [32] | ||
| Best Guitarist | Won | [32] | ||
| 2019 | Best Blues Band or Performer | Won | [32] | |
| Best Blues Album | Kill or Be Kind | Won | [32] | |
| Best Guitarist | Won | [32] | ||
| 2023 | Best Blues Artist | Won | [32] | |
| Best Guitarist | Won | [32] | ||
| Best Music Video | "Deathwish" (with Jesse Dayton) | Won | [32] | |
| Best Blues Album | Deathwish (with Jesse Dayton) | Won | [32] |
Beth Hart is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single "LA Song " from her second album Screamin' for My Supper. The single was a number one hit in New Zealand, as well as reaching the top 5 of the US Adult Contemporary and Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts.
Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in Lindewerra, Germany. As of 2008, Ruf had produced 120 releases, sold over one million albums, received two Grammy nominations and ten Blues Music Award nominations.
Sue Foley is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer. She has released 15 albums since her debut with Young Girl Blues (1992). In May 2020, Foley won her first Blues Music Award, in the 'Koko Taylor Award ' category.
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues rock artist.
JW-Jones is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He is a Juno Award nominee (2015), Billboard magazine Top 10 Selling artist, and winner of the International Blues Challenge for "Best Self-Produced CD Award" for his release 'High Temperature' in 2017 and Best Guitarist in 2020.
Joanne Shaw Taylor is an English singer and guitarist. She was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16.
Devon Allman is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band. Allman was the founder and bandleader of Honeytribe, also known as Devon Allman's Honeytribe, with whom he released two albums and toured across North America and Europe. Prior to Honeytribe, Allman contributed to several other musical recordings, notably Vargas Blues Band and the A Song for My Father compilation album. He was one of the original members of Royal Southern Brotherhood and contributed to their first two studio albums and toured with them. In 2013, Allman launched his solo career as the Devon Allman Band, and has since released three albums. His latest tour, branded as the Devon Allman Project, features special guest Duane Betts.
Royal Southern Brotherhood is the debut studio album by American blues and blues rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, released May 8, 2012. In support of the album, the band began an international tour on May 11, 2012, with shows in USA and Canada, as well as multiple countries in Europe.
Mike Zito is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott.
Dani Wilde is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist who fuses roots genres including blues, country, gospel, soul and Americana into popular song.
Danielle Nicole is an American blues/soul musician from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Her self-titled solo debut EP was released March 10, 2015, on Concord Records. The self-titled EP features Grammy Award-winning producer and guitarist Anders Osborne, Galactic's co-founding drummer Stanton Moore, and keyboardist Mike Sedovic. On February 25, 2015, American Blues Scene premiered the track "Didn't Do You No Good" off the EP.
Chills & Fever is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Samantha Fish. It was released on March 17, 2017.
Comfort to the Soul is Ana Popović's second studio album, released on October 7, 2003 on Ruf. The album was recorded in Memphis and produced by Jim Gaines. The album consists of five songs by Popović and six covers, showcasing not just the well-known blues artists, but lesser known performers, and even rock songs that work well in the blues environment. Popović introduced some jazz elements into Comfort to the Soul, and the album won a jazz award in France, 'Jazz a Juan-Revelation 2004'. She surrounded herself with seasoned musicians as a statement that she was a blues player to be reckoned with.
Ally Marie Venable is an American blues rock guitar player, singer, and songwriter. She is the 2014, 2015 ETX Music awards female guitar player of the year, and she and her band were the ETX Music Awards 2015, 2016 blues band of the year.
Amanda Fish is an American blues singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her 2018 album, Free, debuted at number 6 in the Billboard Blues Albums Chart. At the 40th Blues Music Awards, it was named the Best Emerging Artist Album.
Kill or Be Kind is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Samantha Fish. It was released on September 20, 2019 under Rounder Records.
Belle of the West is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Samantha Fish. It was released on November 3, 2017, under Ruf Records. The album was produced by Luther Dickinson at Zebra Ranch.
Wild Heart is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Samantha Fish. It was released on June 14, 2015.
Shaw Davis & the Black Ties is an American blues rock and hard rock trio. Formed in 2016 in Pompano Beach, Florida, United States, they have released three albums with their most recent being 2021's Red Sun Rebellion issued on Chin Music Records. They took part in the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Having played over 300 shows, the band have shared the stage with Samantha Fish, Chris Duarte, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, G. E. Smith and Anthony Gomes, Foghat, the Guess Who, Blackberry Smoke, the Georgia Satellites, Bishop Gunn, Walter Trout, Eric Tessmer, Samantha Fish and Blue Öyster Cult.
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