Samantha Fish believes the future of blues guitar is in safe hands, as she names a handful of modern players who stand out from the pack.
The Kansas City guitarist, who was championed by the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Slash and Devon Allman as she shredded her way out of the underground scene, has turned her attention to the next generation of players. There are five, she says, who have taken the blues-rock torch and run with it.
“I just got off the road with Christone Kingfish Ingram, and he’s pretty amazing,” she tells Guitar World. Those shows were part of Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival, a touring bill of esteemed players that includes Warren Haynes, Grace Bowers, Larkin Poe, Eric Gales, and plenty others.
“I think Derek Trucks is one of the greatest there is,” she says of her next pick, “not just in blues playing but any playing. He’s an alien.”
Trucks has been playing guitar for the majority of his life, having scored his first playing gig at age 11. He was playing blues clubs with Buddy Guy long before his 13th birthday, and he learned something crucial to performing during those gigs, he revealed last year.
Fish then picked out three other modern blues trailblazers for recognition.
“I like Gary Clark Jr.,” she says. “He’s very tasteful, and he’s got a great tone. (Eric Clapton might be inclined to agree.)
“Eric Gales is incredible,” she adds. “He just blows everybody away. Luther Dickinson is one of my favorite contemporaries, too. He's awesome.”
As for Fish herself, she's credited 10 albums for shaping both her life and her vibrant playing style. Among the more obvious picks — “Who doesn’t have a Rolling Stones record in their top 10?” she asked Guitar Player last year — there's one intriguing outlier: the MC5's Kick out the Jams.
“This record came into my life fairly recently,” she explains. “I started getting hip to the Detroit rock and soul scene while I was making the Chills & Fever album. I was going through something of a musical evolution, just taking everything in, and eventually that led me to Kick Out the Jams.
“They were punk in the very early days, and that’s where my heart is. Once you get into them, though, you’re really into them. This record really affected me at a time when I wanted to feel something in a big way.”
She's also detailed the five most important riffs in her life, saying one R.L. Burnside song proved her musical upbringing and a 250-second masterclass in groove.
I think Derek Trucks is one of the greatest there is, not just in blues playing.”
— Samantha Fish
Fish also expects contemporary blues players to experiment with the genre and take it to new places. Speaking to Guitar World last August, she spoke of the importance of the blues remaining rebellious and defiant in the face of its critics.
“Even when Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf went electric, which is what we consider to be traditional blues now, they were outsiders. People were saying, ‘This isn’t blues.’ And now it’s our gold standard. It’s the artist’s job to push boundaries and find their voice.
“And, of course, you worry about losing people. You worry about gaining people. That’s the business side of what we do. But at the end of the day, I feel like you have to make art that you can stand by. The rest of it, it kind of sorts itself out.”
