Ally Venable: The Next Generation of Blues

At just 23 years of age, Ally Venable is one of the fastest rising acts in blues rock. Venable is releasing her new album, Real Gone, on March 24 which features guest appearances from Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa.

Blues Rock Review caught up with Venable to discuss her journey to the blues, learning from Buddy Guy, and more.

“My favorite thing about guitar is being able to express myself in a way that words cannot,” says Ally Venable.

“What got me into blues music was discovering who Stevie Ray Vaughan was and then that turned me into learning who Buddy Guy was, and then it just opened up a whole new world to me,” says Ally.

Ally’s mother surprised her for her 15th Birthday by taking her to Dallas, Texas to see Buddy Guy in concert. However, Ally didn’t know who they would be seeing until they arrived.

“We got there and it was a poster of Buddy guy and I was, like, oh my gosh! We’re gonna see him tonight, that’s crazy!”

Ally even received a souvenir from Buddy to take home that night.

“He gave my one of his (guitars) picks and it was chipped and I still have it. In my room I kept a book of concerts that I went to and I put it in a little bag to save it,” she said.

Venable has been playing shows with Guy for over a year now and Buddy has become a mentor even inviting her to join his farewell tour.

“When we were in Houston I just had a moment. I was with Tom (Hambridge) and Buddy is his dressing room and I just had happy tears. It was, like, wow, I can’t believe that this is happening,” said Venable.

Guy appears on Venable’s new album, Real Gone, for the track “Texas Louisiana.”

“It was really cool,” says Ally. “Tom Hambridge produced my album and he also plays drums for Buddy and we wrote the album with Rich Fleming in Nashville, Tennessee.”

Not only does the album feature an appearance from Buddy Guy, Venable also collaborated with Joe Bonamassa on a song.

“It’s just amazing. I’ve become really good friends with Joe and he’s also been very supportive of me and my music,” says Ally.

As for Real Gone Ally said, “It’s a very mature album. I think it’s a coming of age type of album. It’s just the next level production over the other albums.”

Venable is part of the new generation of blues and she hopes can she can help bring this music to a younger audience.

“Kind of what my goal is for my music is to introduce people that don’t really know a whole lot about blues music or people my age that don’t really listen to it to kind of be a gateway into this whole genre and what it is because it’s pretty amazing.”