ICYMI: #HighVoltageWoman IG Live featuring Jackie Venson

BY LAURA HARPER/WWR Staff Writer

Austin, Texas is well known with its reputation as a music town, and someone who is quickly making their mark on that town is renowned singer and guitarist Jackie Venson.

Venson was born and raised in Austin, where her father was a performing musician. Music was always a part of her life, and she grew up playing the piano before picking up singing in high school.

“Growing up in a town where music is always happening, it’s impossible for that not to rub off on someone,” Venson said.

Venson was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied piano, her primary instrument at the time. However, as the years went on, she found herself losing her passion for playing piano. By her last semester of college, she found herself wondering exactly how she wanted to make a career out of music. Ideally, she knew she wanted to perform like her father.

“I liked the idea of hitting it on the weekends and making enough money for the week,” Venson said.

Toward the end of her time in college, Venson decided that she wanted to learn how to play guitar; however, she couldn’t find a professor who was willing to teach her. She then took matters into her own hands and purchased a rudimentary guitar playing book from the Berklee bookstore and began teaching herself. That was when she realized that she had found her calling.

“Whatever instrument you choose, you have to have a positive emotional review of it to play it in front of other people,” Venson said.

Now, Venson is making waves in the Austin music scene. She is the recipient of five Austin Music Awards, four of which were from last year. She has even received a glowing review from Forbes magazine, who called her a “true Austin legend in the making.”

With her own success as a female guitarist, Venson also enjoys finding and following other female guitarists and musicians on social media, since she says they rarely receive the spotlight they deserve.

As a woman in the music industry, and especially a woman of color, Venson has faced her share of challenges in this largely male-dominated space. While she is never afraid to fight back with her words when someone challenges her directly, she says there is not much that can be done about the discrimination and gaslighting that often occurs behind the scenes.

Despite this, however, Venson is determined to not let these obstacles stand in the way of her success. Instead, she focuses on being the best she can be.

“I focus on being really great in my own lane,” Venson said.

Upcoming, Venson has numerous live performances scheduled in Austin and Houston throughout the month of February, plus an appearance at South by Southwest in March. She also has new music in the works, with a song expected to drop on February 25.

For more on Jackie Venson, you can check out the entire interview on the @OfficialWomenWhoRock IGTV channel on Instagram.