Tab Benoit's Swampland Jam and the Samantha Fish Band will share headlining duties during a show Friday at The Hall in Little Rock that promises to feature lots of guitar-heavy, swampy Louisiana grooves.
Benoit will be joined by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone, and Waylon Thibodeaux. Fish and her band are on the road with her pal Benoit in support of her new album, "Faster," which was released Sept. 10.
Fish and Baton Rouge native Benoit first toured together in 2015.
"This is by far the longest, most comprehensive run we have done together and I'm excited," she says. "He's a killer guitar player and I love him dearly, I love the Swampland Jam. It's going to be really fun."
Fish's band includes bassist Ron Johnson, keyboardist Matt Wade and drummer Sarah Tomek.
"We've been out rockin' as a four-piece and having a lot of fun," she says.
"Faster," her seventh solo effort and the follow-up to 2019's "Kill or Be Kind," was produced by Martin Kierszenbaum (Sting, Lady Gaga) and builds on Fish's bluesy sound with a sexy, slinky pop-rock punch.
Fish recorded the album last year at Village Studios in Los Angeles and at first thought the results would be bleak, a reflection of the pandemic era. It's the opposite, though, as she explores themes of empowerment, freedom and taking control.
"When we went to shutdown last year, I focused on writing," she says from her home in New Orleans. "When I first starting writing, there was a lot of confusion and I was frustrated. I met Martin and he was such a positive influence, very upbeat and enthusiastic. I started writing songs from where I wanted to be rather than where I was. It felt good to write songs that I felt would make people happy."
The album features drummer Josh Freese (Guns N' Roses, Nine Inch Nails, The Replacements) and bassist Diego Navaira of The Last Bandoleros. Rapper Tech N9ne, who like Fish is from Kansas City, Mo., drops in for an appearance on "Loud."
"He's a hometown hero in Kansas City and it's a collaboration I've wanted to do since I started my career," she says. "I grew up seeing his billboards and thinking: 'If I could only do a song on a Tech N9ne record.' For him to do a verse on one of mine is a big honor for me."
Even though "Faster" sports elements of dance and pop, Fish's early influences like north Mississippi blues heroes R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and others are never far away.
"I love those albums. Junior Kimbrough is always in my heart," she says. "On 'Twisted Ambition,' [from "Faster"] I really had those guys in my head for inspiration. It's a style of finger-picking, that style of guitar playing that utilizes high strings for melodic movement and low strings for the bass. That was, to me, how I could root this song back to something that is really close to my heart."
Growing up, Fish played drums at first before switching to guitar in her mid-teens.
"I stole my dad's guitar for the longest time. I'd run off with it and he was like, where's my guitar, and I'd be hiding with it," she says with a laugh.
Her first guitar was one her dad gave her for Christmas.
"It wasn't a Stratocaster, but it was built like a Stratocaster and it was pink. But it was so hard to play because the frets were really high and sharp. I would pop strings on it like crazy. It was a rough guitar, but it was my first one and I loved it."
Her first "gigable" guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Studio model she bought from a friend who left it behind after a gig.
She admits to being a bit of a hoarder when it comes to guitars and equipment.
"My collection is ridiculous, and has varying degrees of nice and junky gear. I feel like if I ever get rid of something, I'm going to miss it."
Speaking of missing things, there is one item she let get away.
"It was a Fender Super Reverb amplifier that I think I loaned out to somebody. Man, I wish I still had that amp."
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NoneTab Benoit’s Swampland Jam and The Samantha Fish Band
- Where: The Hall, 721 W. Ninth St., Little Rock
- When: 8 p.m. Friday
- Admission: $30
- Information: (501) 406-1364; littlerockhall.com