Samantha Fish isn’t just a throwback in terms of sonics. The vocalist-guitarist, who loves the blues, goes retro in a visual manner. The cover of Fish’s latest album, “Paper Doll,” features ripped up Polaroids of her face.
“I remember seeing photos of Debbie Harry years ago,” Fish said while calling from her New Orleans home. “They were all ripped up. I remember thinking, ‘She has such a beautiful face.’ The way the photos were cut up in such an abstract way was cool and it inspired me.”
“Paper Doll,” which was released in April, is an amalgam of blues, rock and soul. The album, which was recorded in Detroit, features nine incendiary tracks that are filled with energy and emotion. Fish has never sounded so sexy, sassy and sensual. The sultry “Fortune Teller” is hypnotic. “Lose You” is Fish at her most swaggering and “Don’t Say It” is a catchy and clever love song.
“There is so much that impacted me with this album,” Fish said. “I love Detroit rock ‘n’ roll and Detroit soul. That music speaks to me. Think about what came out of that city. You have Iggy Pop, Motown and so much great garage rock.”
It’s hard to believe Fish, who will perform Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Rialto Theatre, is just 36, but she embraces various music styles as a kid growing up in Kansas City.
While her peers embraced such Woodstock ‘99 heroes as Limp Bizkit and Korn, Fish swam upstream and listened to old-school recording artists.
“I grew up listening to the Stones and Led Zeppelin and they were rooted in the blues,” Fish said. “So, I explored the blues and found the Delta blues sound, which I love. I love artists like R.L. Burnside. I love Son House and Skip James. I did my homework going back from rock to blues, but I have to stress that I love rock and the blues.”
Fish became a fan of Jimi Hendrix and so many old-school artists due to her father. “I owe a lot to my dad,” Fish said. “He threw a lot of great music at me since I was a kid. I really got into these great songwriters, like Tom Petty, John Hiatt and Tom Waits. Some people say Tom Waits can’t sing but he’s an incredible songwriter. His stories are amazing.”
Fish is an inveterate storyteller as well. Her songs are vivid and compelling with catchy riffs.
“I think lyrics are so important, but they’ve gotten lost in the shuffle these days,” Fish said. “Words can really move you. But some people just focus on being incredible at guitar or they just want to be the greatest vocalist.”
Empty lyrics bother Fish. “I just don’t get that,” Fish said. “For me, it has to be about something. It has to have some kind of substance. If you go back a generation or two ago, recording artists sang about things that really mattered.”
Fish loves words, but it’s often the music that strikes her initially. “If I’m driving in my car, I might start singing a melody,” Fish said. “I like singing soul songs in the car, and I might find a hook and a song might start from there. But what I’ll do is put it all together, and then you have a song.”
Fans never know what Fish will do next. She hit sonic paydirt when she recorded “Death Wish Blues” in 2023. Fish collaborated with Jesse Dayton. Fish and the Texas guitarist co-wrote an eclectic album’s worth of blues, funk, rockabilly and punk. “We had a long tour together and it was awesome,” Fish said. “We accomplished our mission, and we will return to it if the stars align again for us.”
In the meantime, Fish will be on the road supporting “Paper Doll.” “I’m in a good place right now,” Fish said. “I have no complaints. People want to hear songs from our previous records when we perform. But for me, I have to play new songs. It’s about creating a live experience that’s different from the last time we performed. I love challenging the band. It’s about building something different. I try to give people a reason to come out and see me again. Every time I come to town the show will be different and that’s always a good thing.”
Fish looks forward to returning to Tucson.
“I have great memories playing with Buddy Guy and Slash in Tucson,” Fish said. “ It’s always a good time when I go back there.”
Samantha Fish
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $47.95
INFO: 520-740-1000, rialtotheatre.com
This article appears in Sep 4-11, 2025.