May 1st, 2026
The Fillmore in New Orleans is, in a humble opinion, a near perfect venue. The history of the landmark is stunning. The hallways are lined with photos of artists who’ve either made their debut there, or swooned their audiences as living legends. Visiting this place was on my bucket list, because while writing for the Boston Blues Society, I reviewed countless records of artists from the South entitled, “Live at the Fillmore.” I wanted to be immersed in this space.
Amidst the hip, cool, airy club are soaring dark ceilings, dawned with chandeliers and pristine facilities. Even more stunning is the impeccable sound quality. The music is balanced and surrounds you. There is no bad seat in the house and the comprehensive sound travels with you, no matter where you are in the venue.
There is something for everyone, GA, to stand dance and rock out, side tables to eat and enjoy drinks, and stadium seating that is close enough to enjoy the view. As a plus, there is hot, delicious snack food at the back of the house, creative drinks, popcorn, pizza and chicken nugs.
Coming off of a rain soaked day at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, The Filmore exceeded expectations.
Samantha Fish had already melted the faces of the near 50,000 sold out crowd at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Her presence at the Fillmore cemented her position in rock music history. The Fillmore NOLA was blessed to witness the culmination of her tour with Tab Benoit, “When Two Tours Collide,” including the celebrated Judith Hill. What an astounding lineup!
There were many a rock snob intensely cued up to wait and witness our modern day blues-rock crown jewel. When Samantha burst on to the Fillmore stage, she took immediate command. Her band is tight -and they respond to each other subliminally. Her comfort with power reaches the audience and connects on many levels. The elite opines rejoiced in their accuracy of hailing Fish as the current icon of quality blues rock - they love to be right. The newbies stood, stared - what musical planet have we landed on? Fish elevates music to experiences that are incomprehensible, other worldly.
If people are gifted in one area of talent, they are most likely brilliant in other skills as well. Samantha’s song writing, guitar shredding, collaboration with the band, and stunning vocals demonstrates that she operates on planes of intellect which we mere mortals can only puzzle in awe to even try to understand.
There is no word that captures the energy that a Samantha Fish show can generate. Samantha Fish is unstoppable, invulnerable, and extremely gifted in shredding original riffs, belting piercing vocals and communicating meaningful lyrics. Track after track, we keep coming back, for more Samantha Fish.
Paper DollI'm Done Runnin'Hello Stranger (Barbara Lewis cover)Sweet Southern SoundsLose YouBulletproofMiles to GoNo Apology (Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton cover)Poor Black Mattie (R.L. Burnside cover)Rusty RazorDream GirlWish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down (R.L. Burnside cover)Black Wind Howlin'
Judith Hill: Joined Samantha Fish on stage for "Cry Cry Cry" and an electrifying cover of Aretha Franklin’s "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
PRESS RELEASE/ROUNDER RECORDS:
One of the most formidable guitarists in recent history, Samantha Fish brings both mind-blowing power and extraordinary emotionality to everything she creates. For help in shaping Paper Doll’s magnificently rowdy but deeply nuanced sound, Fish reunited with Detroit garage-rock icon Bobby Harlow and enlisted the core members of her live band (bassist Ron Johnson, drummer Jamie Douglass, keyboardist Mickey Finn), marking the latest entry in an uncompromising and adventurous catalog.
