There are nights when a band doesn’t just play a show, they set a room on fire. That’s what happened on Oct. 1 at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia, when Samantha Fish walked out in her boots, picked up her guitar, and proceeded to tear the place apart with a set that was equal parts muscle, soul, and attitude. If you’ve ever doubted whether blues-based rock could still feel dangerous in 2025, you definitely weren’t there that night.
The Jefferson, with its 750-capacity old theater charm, always has a way of making shows feel personal. The stage isn’t far removed from the crowd, the walls still hold that lived-in Southern character, and when it’s packed and believe me, it was packed, you can feel the energy bouncing around like a pinball. It’s the kind of room where you’re close enough to see sweat bead up on the performers, close enough to hear the nuance of tone from the amps, close enough to feel the kick drum in your chest. Samantha knew exactly how to use that intimacy to her advantage.
She didn’t ease the audience into anything. She stormed out with “Kick Out the Jams,” yes, the MC5 classic, and no, she didn’t play it safe. The crowd had barely settled into their drinks before she detonated that riff, her band hitting with a ferocity that made it feel less like a cover and more like a declaration of intent. You could see heads bobbing instantly, that look people get when they’re realizing, “Oh, we’re in for something.”
Fish has that way of balancing swagger and precision with her guitar tone that’s sharp and biting, her vocals pushed just hard enough to let grit creep in. It’s the sound of someone who’s not trying to prove herself anymore but still plays because she has something to say.
If “Kick Out the Jams” was the Molotov cocktail opener, “Paper Doll,” the title track of her new album, was the slow burn. She leaned into it with a sultry vocal, stretching the phrasing until the room felt hypnotized.
That emotional whiplash is part of what makes her shows so gripping. One minute you’re raising your beer, the next you’re thinking about old scars you thought you’d buried.
“I’m Done Runnin’” felt like a mission statement. There’s a different kind of fire in a song like that live, a little less polished than the record, more ragged around the edges. During the song, Samantha prowled the stage, working her guitar like it was a weapon.
Watch Samantha Fish perform “I’m Done Runnin'” live from Esplanade Studios on YouTube:
Then came “Can Ya Handle the Heat?” — and it was exactly what the title suggested: a call-out, a dare, a challenge. If there’s a better way to describe the way she commands a stage, I haven’t found it. It’s not just the riffs; it’s the eye contact, the way she leans into the crowd as if daring them to blink first.
One of the night’s highlights was her take on “Either Way I Lose,” a track that sits right at the crossroad of blues tradition and her own distinct edge. That slide guitar had teeth and the crowd wasn’t just watching; they were moving in rhythm, swaying like the song had pulled some invisible string.
I’ve always thought that song works as a reminder that Samantha isn’t just about shredding or swagger, she can twist a melody into a knife and make you feel the sting.
The Jefferson crowd, surprisingly quiet for a college town, leaned in close. You could almost feel the people holding their breath, like they didn’t want to disturb the spell.
When she hit “No Angels,” the atmosphere shifted again. Darker, more atmospheric. The lights bled red across the stage, her voice cutting through the haze like a razor through skin.
For a second, it didn’t feel like a show in a theater; it felt like some underground roadhouse on the outskirts of town, illuminated by the light of an old neon bar sign, where you weren’t sure if you were safe but you didn’t want to leave. Her band, consisting of bassist Ron Johnson, drummer Jamie Douglass and Mickey Finn on keys, helped Samantha conjure up some dark, bluesy mojo throughout the evening.
Watch Samantha Fish perform “No Angels” live for WNCW Studio B on YouTube:
Somewhere around “Lose You” and “Sweet Southern Sounds,” things got almost tender, well, tender in Samantha Fish terms. These weren’t stripped down acoustic numbers, but they carried that sense of vulnerability that balances her fire. Charlottesville ate it up.
Then, without warning, she punched the mood sideways with “Bulletproof.” The stomp, the fuzz, the sneer in her voice all ran us over like a freight train. That’s the genius of her setlists: She knows exactly when to ease you in and when to knock you flat.
By the time “Miles to Go” rolled out, we were firmly locked in her pocket. It’s one of those songs that feels bigger live, like it was built for stages, and her band drove it home with a relentless groove.
Then came “Fortune Teller,” which had this swampy, voodoo kind of vibe. The way she teased the vocal, the way the rhythm section locked into that rolling beat, you half expected someone to start lighting candles at the front of the stage. And if “Fortune Teller” was mystical, “Rusty Razor” was raw. She spat those lyrics like they were poison she had to get out. The guitar work was jagged, gnarly, the kind of thing that makes you scrunch your face without realizing it. Toward the end, “Don’t Say It” gave the Jefferson one more blast of heavy-lidded blues-rock, her vocals dripping with equal parts defiance and plea.
And then “Black Wind Howlin’.” What can you say? It’s her closer for a reason. She stretched it out, solo after solo, wringing every ounce of tension and release until it felt like the roof might shake loose. That song has always felt like a storm on record, but live, in a theater that small, it was a Category 5.
Watch Samantha Fish perform “Black Wind Howlin'” live for Relix on YouTube:
Part of what made the night special wasn’t just the music but how Samantha handled the crowd. Between songs, she joked about being back in Virginia, teased the front row and thanked the venue staff. It’s a small thing, but it made the show feel more like a gathering than a performance. She wasn’t some untouchable rock star on a pedestal because she was right there with us, in the sweat and the noise.
And that’s maybe why it worked so well. Rock and roll, at its core, is about connection. Doesn’t matter if you’re in an arena or a theater with red velvet curtains — the goal is the same: to make you feel something raw and real. Samantha Fish did that, and then some.
Here’s a side note worth mentioning: there’s something about catching a show in Charlottesville on a crisp October night that adds an extra layer. Walking out of the Jefferson after the encore, the air was cool, the streets buzzing with students and locals, the night still young. It felt like the kind of scene you’d stumble into in a road novel with the music still ringing in your ears, neon lights flickering, conversations spilling out of bars as you try to make sense of what you just saw.
That’s the magic of a night like this. The concert doesn’t really end when the house lights come up; it lingers, attaches itself to the evening, becomes part of the story you’ll tell down the road.
It was one of those nights you’ll look back on and remember exactly how it felt — loud, sweaty, electric. Not polished and not perfect, just real. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Setlist
1. Kick Out the Jams (MC5 cover)
2. Paper Doll
3. I’m Done Runnin’
4. Can Ya Handle the Heat?
5. Either Way I Lose
6. No Angels
7. Lose You
8. Sweet Southern Sounds
9. Bulletproof
10. Miles to Go
11. Fortune Teller
12. Rusty Razor
13. Don’t Say It
14. Black Wind Howlin’
Here are some photos of Samantha Fish performing live at The Jefferson Theater on Oct. 1, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography.
