By Bill Kopp
Ally Venable is not your typical blues guitarist. At 25, she’s a seasoned veteran, having released a debut EP, Wise Man, in 2014, and following up with five albums. Venable is also a hard-working touring musician, having played hundreds of dates in the U.S. and across Europe. Her most recent album, 2023’s Real Gone, featured guest turns from Joe Bonamassa and Buddy Guy; the latter has been a longtime supporter and mentor of Venable’s artistry.
On Buddy Guy’s 2021 tour, the legendary bluesman gave the opening spot to Venable. And the young guitarist has a deep appreciation for what that meant to her career. “Just seeing him live is amazing,” Venable says. “But having the opportunity to play with him onstage every night was an experience I’ll never, ever forget.”
That was just the beginning. Venable recalls an October 2021 concert date at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida. An amateur video of a six-minute jam featuring the two trading fiery guitar licks is on YouTube, but the evening’s most important exchange took place backstage.
After the show was over, Guy invited producer Tom Hambridge, Venable and several others back to his dressing room. “We were just talking about music,” Venable says, and then Buddy said, ‘We should help Ally with her next record.’ And that’s how it started.” Guy would guest on “Texas Louisiana,” one of Real Gone’s hardest and heaviest numbers; like that concert clip, the track features plenty of good-natured back-and-forth between the blues icon and his protégé.
Venable’s rock sensibility adds a modern quality to her blues outings; the influence of artists like ZZ Top, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix finds expression in her fretwork and muscular arrangements. And her years on the road—including an extended, 60-date run as part of the international Ruf Records Blues Caravan—has given Venable more than the average 25-year-old’s lifetime worth of experiences.
The guitarist—who writes and/or co-writes her own material—says that she draws upon those experiences for her songs. Looking back at the music she made a decade ago, she says that she has matured as an artist and musician. “When I wrote my first songs, I went off what I thought was ‘correct,’” she admits. “But we all go through things, and that’s what I base my material on now. I build off my life and what I think other people can relate to.”
Venable is still enjoying the success of Real Gone, with a tour that features several songs from the album. But work on an as-yet-untitled follow-up album, set for release in spring 2025, is well underway.
She provides some hints as to where that album will take her: “I’m being a little more vulnerable with what I say and how I say it,” she says. “And I’m being more bold with what I’m trying in the studio, with sounds, harmonies and my vocal range.” Though she has a solid body of work behind her, Ally Venable is clearly just getting started.
Ally Venable plays at 8pm on Sept. 26 with Preacher Boy Trio. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. Tickets: $20 adv/$25 door. moesalley.com
