Multi-Award winning American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Samantha Fish released her new studio album Belle of the West on Ruf Records on Friday (November 17). The album is being supported by a nationwide UK tour - and it kicks off in our neck of the woods, at The Stables today (Monday, Nov 20).
"You should always get outside of the box," Samantha Fish says while discussing her boundary-breaking new album Belle of the West. "Challenging yourself is how you grow."
After launching her recording career in 2009, Samantha quickly established herself as a rising star in the contemporary blues world. Since then, the charismatic young singer-guitarist-songwriter has earned a reputation as a rising guitar hero and powerful live performer, while releasing a series of acclaimed albums that have shown her restless creative spirit consistently taking her in new and exciting musical directions.
The New York Times called Fish "an impressive blues guitarist who sings with sweet power" and "one of the genre's most promising young talents." Her hometown paper The Kansas City Star noted, "Samantha Fish has kicked down the door of the patriarchal blues club" and observed that the young artist "displays more imagination and creativity than some blues veterans exhibit over the course of their careers."
Having already made it clear that she's more interested in following her heart than she is in repeating past triumphs, Samantha Fish delivers some of her most compelling music to date with Belle of the West, her fifth studio album. The deeply soulful, personally charged 11-song set showcases Fish's sublime acoustic guitar skills as well as her roots, emotionally resonant song writing.
"To me, this is a natural progression," Fish notes. "It's a storytelling record by a girl who grew up in the Midwest. It's very personal. I really focused on the song writing and vocals, the melodies and emotion, and on bringing another dimension to what I do. I wasn't interested in shredding on guitar, although we ended up with a few heavier tracks. I love Mississippi Blues; there's something very soulful and very real about that style of music, so this was a chance to immerse myself in that."
"I wanted to do this acoustic-electric record, and tap into the style and swagger of Mississippi," Fish states, adding, "Any time you dive into another place, another vibe and a new group of people, you're challenging yourself to grow musically. I felt very at home a Zebra Ranch, and I've known Luther and Malcolm for years, so it was a very comfortable situation. When you're making a record like this, it has to feel natural if you want people to respond to it.
Belle of the West follows on the heels of Fish's March 2017 release Chills & Fever, which achieved top 10 status in the Billboard Blues charts.
Fish continues to maintain the same hardworking, prolific approach that's carried her this far. "I think I've always had that," she says. "Music is my life, so what other choice do I have but to go out and make music? I like to work hard. This is who I am and this is what I do, and when I'm writing and recording and touring is when I feel the most like myself. Now we have a moment where people are paying attention, so I have to make the most of it. I feel like I have a lot to say right now, so why not say it?"
As far as Samantha is concerned, her musical future is an open road. "I'm never gonna be a traditional blues artist, because that's not who I am," she asserts. "But it's all the blues for me. When Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf came out, what they were doing didn't sound like anything that had been done in blues before. You've gotta keep that kind of fire and spirit. I'm never gonna do Muddy Waters better than Muddy Waters, so I have to be who I am and find my best voice.”
Book your seat to see the Samantha here
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