On Saturday, December 20, Grammy-nominated Samantha Fish, currently touring in support of her April release, Paper Doll, paused that run to return to the Shake ‘Em On Down Tour, an annual collaboration with Jon Spencer and Cedric Burnside that brings together three distinct but intersecting strains of the blues. Several days after playing in Rochester, they packed Brooklyn Bowl for an extended evening of music.
Garage punk blues provocateur Jon Spencer, a pioneer who helped define New York City’s underground rock scene, opened the night. In addition to fronting Pussy Galore, Boss Hog and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Spencer collaborated in the mid-1990s with R.L. Burnside, the legendary Mississippi Hill Country blues musician, helping introduce Burnside’s music to a broader, younger alternative-rock audience. Backed by powerful bassist Kendall Wind and drummer Macky Bowman, Spencer delivered a set layered with distorted guitar sounds and fuzzed riffs, and an aggressive energy that leaned more punk rock—and at times almost performance art—than traditional blues. Spencer spoke earnestly about love and healing in the current political climate, against a looping chant of “fight the power.”
Cedric Burnside, R.L. Burnside’s grandson, shifted the mood with his hypnotic take on Mississippi Hill Country blues. Though his trio mirrored Spencer’s setup—vocalist/guitarist, bassist and drummer—with Kody Harrell on bass and Joe Eagle on drums, the feel was markedly different: understated and deeply rooted in groove and ancestral Delta traditions.
Also a singer-guitarist, Samantha Fish draws from both worlds. Her playing channels Spencer’s ferocity and boundary-pushing rock energy while also embracing the traditional blues phrasing that aligns with Burnside’s lineage and influence. The result is a modern blues-rock style that is aggressive and raw at times, yet anchored by technical clarity and melodic storytelling.
Fish’s set featured eleven songs, including most of the tracks from Paper Doll, ranging from raucous tunes like “Rusty Razor” to the moody and vulnerable “Fortune Teller.” She also played two selections from 2019’s Kill Or Be Kind, among them her breakthrough track “Bulletproof,” performed on her distinctive cigar-box guitar. She closed her main set with “Black Wind Howlin’” from her 2013 album by the same name, preceded by a nod to R.L. Burnside’s “I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down.”
For the encore, Fish led a communal rendition of R.L. Burnside’s “Goin’ Down South,” joined by members of both opening bands. Cedric Burnside, who came up as a drummer for his grandfather, and Fish’s drummer, Jamie Douglass, briefly shared the drum kit.
Throughout the night, Fish showcased her impressive guitar collection, switching guitars frequently. She opened with her signature white, double-humbucker Gibson SG, later bringing out a silver sparkle Gibson Custom Shop ES-335, a Flying V and several other guitars.
Once hailed as a breakout blues talent, Samantha Fish has fully arrived. With Grammy nominations, global touring credentials and a coveted opening slot for The Rolling Stones, she now draws audiences that extend well beyond the genre’s traditional boundaries. Paper Doll, her ninth studio album and the first recorded with her touring band, received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues album. After the holidays, Fish will continue the Paper Doll tour across Asia and Europe.
Setlist: Kick Out the James (MC5), Paper Doll, I’m Done Runnin’, Sweet Southern Sounds, Lose You, Don’t Say It, Bulletproof, Fortune Teller, Rusty Razor, Dream Girl, Black Wind Howlin’ (with intro of R.L. Burnside’s “I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down”). Encore: Goin’ Down South (R.L. Burnside).
