Article Contributed by L. Paul Mann
Published on November 26, 2025
Samantha Fish | Lobero Theatre | Santa Barbara, CA | November 18th, 2025 – photos by L. Paul Mann
The historic Lobero Theatre, with its Spanish-colonial bones and warm amber glow, has long been one of Santa Barbara’s most intimate musical sanctuaries. On November 18th, those century-old beams and perfectly tuned acoustics hosted a double bill that traced the entire arc of American roots music — Robert Jon & The Wreck setting the stage, and Samantha Fish delivering a headliner that pushed the room to its limits. The usually reserved Lobero crowd was anything but tame. This was a night of raised pulses, roaring solos, and guitars sharp enough to peel paint.
When the lights snapped up for Robert Jon & The Wreck, the room was transported somewhere between Macon and Muscle Shoals. Robert Jon Burrison stood center-stage with the presence of a bandleader born for roadhouses and summer-festival heat, flanked by drummer Andre Espantman and keyboardist Jake Abernathie, both sporting the kind of hair and beards that would make 1974 proud. Their nearly hour-long set grew hotter with each passing minute, anchored by Henry James — a lead guitarist whose tone was thick, confident, and surgical.
They opened with “Highway”, pushed by Abernathie’s rollicking honky-tonk keys that briefly turned the Lobero into a Southern juke joint. Burrison’s vocals carried a gritty charm reminiscent of Gregg Allman — raspy, soulful, full of weather and miles.
“Blame It On The Whisky” highlighted James’s expressive touch — winding solos that never once felt self-indulgent. Hints of Allmans, Skynyrd, even Marshall Tucker drifted through the mix — not imitation, but inheritance.
By “Oh Miss Carolina”, the audience had already surrendered to the warm Southern breeze the band conjured. They closed with “Keep Myself Clean”, harmonies stacked, guitars ringing, nostalgia in full color. Abernathie summed it up walking offstage:
“We’re just keeping the tradition alive.”
On this night, they proved it.
After a short reset, the theatre fell into deep blue shadow. The crowd murmured, ready. Then — Samantha Fish appeared. She walked to center stage like voltage incarnate, and the roar hit before the first chord.
Fish detonated the set with “Kick Out The Jams”, her guitar a lightning bolt through the Lobero’s pristine acoustics. Bassist Ron Johnson, drummer Jamie Douglass, and keyboardist Mickey Finn locked instantly beneath her — a band wired for speed and sharp corners. Fish switched guitars almost every track, each change like shifting gears in a muscle car.
“Paperdoll” sliced clean through the room with her razor-bright voice. “I’m Done Runnin’” upped the emotional stakes — her guitar cried as Douglass built tension beneath her like rising weather.
The room darkened for “Sweet Southern Sounds”, humid and cinematic, Finn’s organ thickening the atmosphere like heat on the bayou. Then came “Bulletproof”, Fish grounding into her box guitar, slide in hand — snarling riffs that made the floorboards hum. “Miles To Go” doubled the tempo, adrenaline ripping through the crowd.
Her Flying V appeared like a weapon. “Fortune Teller” came slow and dangerous — then exploded into improvisation, strings screaming, tension crawling. By the time she reached “No Angels”, Fish stripped the flash away, standing rooted in Delta soul. The Lobero held its breath.
“Poor Mattie” brought back the stomp — blues you felt in the ribs — before she closed with a blistering “Black Wind Howlin’.” The final notes cracked open the room like winter surf across Lake Michigan. The ovation was instant, unanimous, deserved.
Samantha Fish is Kansas City blues at its core, but her evolution is wildfire — tradition in one hand, reinvention in the other. Robert Jon & The Wreck revived southern-rock lineage with reverence and vitality. Fish answered with a modern blues attack that felt fearless and new.
Inside the Lobero Theatre — a 150-year-old California treasure — both acts thrived. This wasn’t nostalgia. It was history running hot, loud, and alive.
