Musician Jackie Venson stands in front of a white brick wall, holding a black electric guitar. She is wearing a white short-sleeved button-down shirt with a tan tie and dark trousers, looking at the camera with a confident expression. Her signature voluminous dark hair is a focal point of the portrait.
Jackie Venson Credit: Ismael Quintanilla III

The Tampa Bay Blues Festival celebrates 30 years in the game this month with a stacked lineup that includes Taj Mahal with The Phantom Blues Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmie Vaughan, Tab Benoit, Los Lobos, Samantha Fish, and more.

Before that weekend, however, the festival throws a kickoff with Boston power blues trio GA-20 and Austin-based Jackie Venson (the first Black woman to win Best Guitarist in the Austin Music Awards) playing the intimate Hough Hall.

Tickets to see Tampa Bay Blues Festival Kickoff: GA-20 play Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg on Thursday, April 9 are still available for $48.95.

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This article appears in Mar. 26 – Apr. 1.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...