SAMANTHA FISH

Winner of the 2012 Blues Music Award for Best New Debut Artist, Samantha Fish plays up a storm with her trademark guitar work and soulful vocals. By the time she was 18, Fish was already pioneering her brand of blues-inspired guitar on the local blues circuit. Although never one to stray far from those roots, Fish's music also contains a tasteful amount of rock mixed in with a little country and Americana for good measure.

She followed the thread from modern masters like Mike Zito and Tab Benoit, through fallen '80s heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan, right back to the pre-war Delta masters. With another extensive year of touring lined up as well as a brand new album on deck, Samantha Fish's star will only continue to rise.