Blues Sunday: Ally Venable headlines the 31st Anniversary Show

Blues Sunday: Ally Venable headlines at Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts April 7. 2024

Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Door at 5:30, Headliner show at 8. The Youth Showcase will begin at 6.

Raffles, door prizes, silent auction, cake, friends, music, dancing, food, and more.

Located at Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts Skyline Room, this event promises a comfortable atmosphere where you can enjoy great blues music, delicious drinks and food, and the company of fellow blues enthusiasts.

Texas blues-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Ally Venable, entertains wherever she goes. With her signature glitter dresses and black knee-high boots, Venable comes off of the ropes swinging dazzling crowds on tour or throughout the festival circuit. "Venable pulls off a stunner of gritty and/or sultry blues rock tunes embellished with lots of tasty guitar solos." - Guitar Player Magazine. A Kilgore, Texas native, Ally began singing at church at four and picked up the guitar at age 12. By 13, she started her own band and through her early influence of Stevie Ray Vaughan captured the passion and yearning for more in the blues genre. Early releases No Glass Shoes (2016) and Puppet Show (2018) started her fanbase, charting radio play, and several East Texas Music Awards. It was 2019’s #2 Billboard Blues charting Texas Honey and rocking sets on Ruf’s European Blues Caravan tour that propelled her internationally. “Ally is the future of blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock.” - Mike Zito. In what silenced many musicians during the pandemic, Venable now in her 20’s, released another Blues Billboard charting album, Heart of Fire (2021), which challenged her to write not only about love but the unguarded honesty of feeling pain.”On this album,I really wanted to create a tone of overcoming your struggles and persevering through them,” she explains. Mentor and featured artist on this album, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, lends his guitar skills on XM Bluesville’s charted song, “Bring on the Pain.” In 2022, Guitar World Magazine named Ally #2 on the top 15 Young Guns Making the Gibson Les Paul Cool Again, and she received the Road Warrior award from the Independent Blues Music Awards. Along with Ally’s own tour domestically and in Europe, her band has supported Buddy Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd throughout the US, as well as Colin James in Canada. She has performed as a featured artist on the Experience Hendrix Show at the ACL Live at Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Fans are anticipating Venable’s upcoming spring 2023 release produced by Grammy award winning producer, Tom Hambridge, which includes a duet with the iconic Buddy Guy and a song featuring powerhouse guitarists Joe Bonamassa.

The Youth Showcase band was our 2024 IBC Youth entry, The Southern Groove Machine. This group of talented up and coming musicians play the Charlotte area.

Rooted deeply in the Blues, The Southern Groove Machine channels driving riffs, funky rhythms, and rock attitude, transporting its fans on an unforgettable listening journey. With influences ranging from Joe Bonamassa and Kenny Wayne Shepherd to Tower of Power and Marcus King, The Machine pumps out expertly crafted tunes, both known and obscure, as well as a few of its own creation. This is an evolutionary band, classic yet distinctly modern. And because its eldest member is only 19, The Machine perfectly represents the new face of blues music.

Guitarist Jack Slater and singer Hannah Arnold front The Machine. Hailing from Charlotte and Atlanta respectively, the two have long gigged together at venues throughout the same Southern corridor that’s produced legendary bands like The Allman Brothers and Larkin Poe. Jack’s rich phrasing and blistering attack reflect generations of great blues and rock guitar players melded into a style that’s uniquely his. Hannah’s warm, powerful vocals spark comparisons to blues and soul icons, including Etta James.

Drummer Evan Schmit and bassist Jamie Goodwin bolt down The Machine’s rhythm section. Evan’s uncanny syncopation and perfect timing derive from a musical aptitude reserved only for the rarest of performers, like Nate Smith.

Come take a ride on The Machine. You won’t regret it.

Host or Publisher Charlotte Blues Society