Modern blues roots guitar wielding champion, Samantha Fish, has been a leader in keeping the blues alive - and helping blues rock evolve. Leadership knows their audience and engages their passions. Leadership builds trust, then pushes the boundaries of curiosity and human connection. A free fall of thousands of people into the collective consciousness of total immersion does not happen by accident.
From a teenager cold calling bars, Samantha has been comfortable on stages, and she levels the field between artist and fan. She immediately welcomes the crowd into her wavelength. Once attuned, the energy twists, turns, with deliciously, deliriously blinding fire, and sends us off into exhilaration. Rooted in Kansas City blues, and influenced by artists from Prince to Leonard Cohen, as well as the legends of Mississippi Hill Country blues, she has created her own sound, and newcomers to her shows are often unprepared for her mighty power.
Samantha brings this transformative energy with every live show, and she knows exactly what she is doing with her new record, Paper Doll Live. The record is noted to be a documentation of the power delivered by Samantha and her band every time they perform live.
Harmony vocals on “I’m Done Running,” “Lose You,” “Sweet Southern Sounds,” “Better Be Lonely,” and “Don’t Say It” are added by Gospel legends, The McCrary Sisters, providing depth and emotional texture to the album.
The record was produced by Michelle Aquilato, recorded by Gary Paczosa, mixed by Gary Paczosa, and mastered by Paul Blakemore. Here’s the lineup:
Samantha Fish/Paper Doll Live/Recording artists
Samantha Fish – electric guitar, vocals
Ron Johnson – bass
Mickey Finn – keys
Jamie Douglass – drums
Harmony vocals by the McCrary Sisters.
Released by Rounder Records
Friday June 12, 2026
Recorded at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, TN
Featuring the single, “Sweet Southern Sounds (Live)”
Kick Out The Jams (MC5 cover)
Samantha transfers this classic to a faster, rolling pace with more clarity in the vocals than the original, with Mickey Finn boosting the keys. She keeps it short, giving the listener just a taste of the intensity to come. One thing noticed in her live show and this record is how Samantha and the band bring intensive, unexpected energy to the stage, but then back off quickly to give the audience a chance to catch their breath, only to circle around for another dizzying ride of guitar shredded spins.
Paper Doll
Paper Doll is the title of this recorded live set and Samantha Fish’s Grammy nominated studio record. This is a great second track because it sets the tone for the rest of the album. A signature statement piece of fierce empowerment, Fish rightfully shows zero mercy toward those who will stereotype, project or manipulate her image. Samantha knows who she is and quickly communicates the values of Samantha Nation.
Samantha has said in her press release that this record is ‘for the fans.’ She is fully capable of non-stop, endless energy, level 10 intensity and is able to deliver. But she uses plateau bridges to allow the listeners to process what they’ve just heard, before circling back to throw more hooks and hit the notes even harder. The result is a powerful, iconic experience.
Can You Handle The Heat
The opening, danceable rhythm of “Can You Handle The Heat” shows the songwriting range of Samantha Fish and her band.
I Put A Spell on You (Screaming Jay Hawkins cover)
Famously covered by the likes of Nina Simone, CCR and even Marilyn Mason, Samantha and the band capture and own the smoky, haunting, ghost through the fog of history in reviving this beautiful ballad. It closes with the reason Jay Hawkins was called “Screaming Jay Hawkins.”
I’m Done Running
Samantha introduces The McCrary Sisters and hits the highest notes to open the song, making the energy float toward an out of body experience, buoyed by the continued guitar and velvet vocals. The song builds, then hits, hits, hits bringing all out power to the guitar jams, suspends us on a highwire for a little bit, to bring us down and continue the ride.
Lose You
Each song on this record is unique in its own right, but develops the unique sound and tone of the band. The guitar work reflects high pitched and complex interactions, a cloud of elevated vocals.
If you’re hearing some Zeppelin inspired undertones from Samantha, you are not imaging it. Samantha has shared in many interviews that Zep is a big influence on her early song writing. It can be heard in the vocals too, especially some Plant sounding moans in the prelude to “Paper Doll”. Samantha shared in interviews, that she grew up listening to classic rock and has played Kashmir, and the blues heavy, In My Time of Dying, with a four string oil can guitar to give her sound some gritty riffs. Guitar World noted that “Fish has credited an old Led Zeppelin studio trick—running small amps in the studio to capture a punchy, overdriven guitar tone—as a major inspiration for how she builds her own album sounds.” (May 30, 2025).
Sweet Southern Sound
This track brings North Mississippi inspired guitar phrasing. It’s danceable and rockable, while never letting go of the gritty sound for which NM blues is known. This is not by accident, Luther Dickinson, North Mississippi Allstars co-founder and former Black Crowes guitarist, has produced two of Samantha’s albums, Wild Heart (2015) and Belle of the West (2017), and made contributions to the LP “Paper Doll”. Dickinson also taught her how to create a melodic solo sound using the hollow-body guitar.
Bullet Proof and Miles To Go are consistent rockin' high energy jams that keep the party going. Wear your most comfortable boots when you head out to see Samantha Fish and her band live. This group will get you actually jumping!
Fortune Teller
This is not the Benny Spellman witty juxtaposition of the psychic and the present-future love. Samantha Fish writes this original and emerges as the immediate muse in her artistic journey toward universal hope among love turned cold. The poetic lyrics and hanging phrases emote a sense of longing, only to be swept up with power and spiritual lifts. In historic classic rock style, her songs have multiple sections and phrases, showing off the talent, creativity and blues rock, using the themes of the songs to create a set of lyrics that will haunt.
You Better Be Lonely
This has a psychedelic start that twists toward a straight forward honest look at relationships and will have the crowd singing and moving all night. The keys come through to bring some subtle joy to the track.
Dream Girl
Beautiful, vulnerable vocals and sweet blue eyed, soulful lyrics create a sweeping sound across this ballad. The drums and keys frame out Samantha’s softer tones and it’s a refreshing addition to the endless list of talents she owns.
Don’t Say It
Gospel openings ground this well designed message to the liar, the manipulator, all that is wanted is to be heard. This album brings the recognition and validation that she has stood for all along.
Poor Black Mattie (RL Burnside cover)
“Let’s play some blue, huh?”
A nod to the ultimate Mississippi Delta history, is legendary RL Burnside’s (1967) Poor Black Mattie. Widely covered, Samantha Fish joins Alice Jayne and Danielle Lemieux as female vocalists who’ve revised the song. Samantha leads the way in popularity with it, because her stunning original guitar licks keep Mattie immortal in the blues world.
Rusty Razor
I love the sway of this song’s opener, and Samantha’s quick lyrics and slick guitar work create a modern straight shooter country blues rocker. The backup vocals accent its punch.
Black Winds Howlin
From the title track of the 2013 album that won her BMA Winner for Best New Blues Artist, originally produced by Mike Zito, and re-released under the production of Michelle Aquilato for Paper Doll Live, Black Winds Howlin grounds this live record by showcasing all of the power and talent that Samantha and her band bring to the blues rock world.
Paper Doll Live is out now and can be purchased in different formats at this Link
