Axe grinder: Texas singer-songwriter Jackie Venson is starting to escape a tagline. Winning Best Guitarist at this year’s Austin Music Awards pushed Venson past all of the gender references that typically surround a woman with an electric guitar in her hands. Combining power, skill, and dreamy vocals, her music draws comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Prince, and Guitar Player magazine noted the classically trained musician’s “unique ability to blend blues, rock, R&B, and soul into a idiosyncratic sound that’s unmistakably hers.” Venson plays The Festy in its new urban setting with a lineup that includes Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Dawes, and Samantha Fish.
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McGuffey’s summer show offers plenty of the weird and wonderful
Presenting a broad survey of disciplines and conceptual concerns, McGuffey Art Center’s “All Member Summer Show” highlights the diverse output made by member artists of Charlottesville’s downtown arts hub. From unexpected and eccentric assemblage and sculpture to alluring paintings in lush oil and vivid watercolor, the two-floor showcase offers an incredible amount of art to […]
