Heralded as one of “Austin’s rising stars” by Rolling Stone and “an Austin legend in the making” by Forbes, Jackie Venson has established herself as one of the most commanding performers to come out of Texas. An Austin native, Venson has shared the stage with icons like Gary Clark Jr and Melissa Etheridge and even performed with Alanis Morissette and Lainey Wilson at the 2023 CMT Awards and in 2024 Venson was selected to perform as part of Rolling Stone’s Future of Music showcase at SXSW.

Venson’s breakthrough album Joy received critical acclaim upon its release in 2019, and while the pandemic stood in the way of touring plans for the next year, Venson nonetheless found new levels of fame with her livestreaming presence throughout 2020, which led to her landing the #9 position on Pollstar’s Top 50 Livestreamers list for the year and a booking on the legendary Austin City Limits.

In 2021 Venson collaborated with renowned producer Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, U2) on Love Transcends, a love letter to Texas blues rock in all its forms. Venson followed that up with Evolution of Joy, a reimagining of Joy that was created with help of producer Frenchie Smith (Toadies, Jet), and the duo teamed up again for 2023’s Ghost in the Machine, an electro funk, jazz-infused guitar pop album that updates 2020’s Vintage Machine. Venson’s next album, The Love Anthology, comes out in January 2025 to coincide with her third annual January residency at the iconic Austin venue Antone’s.

Kam Franklin is a singer-songwriter, music producer, activist, writer, orator, model, visual artist, and actress from Houston, TX. She is best known for her work with the gulf coast soul band, The Suffers, but Kam began performing gospel music at the age of five. A three-time recipient of the Houston Press Music Award for Best Female Vocalist, Kam has performed on five continents and has performed with the Suffers backed by The Houston Symphony in addition to being featured solo. Kam is also known for her unique collaborations, some of which include: her 2018 collaboration with Grammy Award winning Tejano legends, La Mafia, filling in for H.R. (of Bad Brains) during the 2016 Afropunk Festival Superjam alongside members of Bad Brains, Fishbone, and Living Colour, performing in the 2016 March For Science band alongside Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Questlove, Judith Hill, and Fred Wesley (longtime James Brown and Parliament collaborator), and repeated appearances at Newport Folk Festival where she has participated in numerous tributes and collaborations, most notably with Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell, Lucius, and Deer Tick. In 2022, she released the Bayou City Comeback Chorus EP, a social justice album funded with a grant by The Houston Arts Alliance that features the voices and musicianship of over 20 artists from around the Houston area.

Both Forbes and Vice have featured Kam for her activism and business ventures that seek to create a more equitable and inclusive environment in the arts for black, queer, and femme artists working in all mediums and from all backgrounds. In fall 2018, she joined the board for Headcount.org. Kam’s unique style and fashion-sense has also been covered by Buzzfeed, Refinery 29, and Nylon. Fronting The Suffers, Kam has performed nationally on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Kimmel Live in addition to speaking with  Ailsa Chang and Ari Shapiro on NPR’s All Things Considered, Brené Brown’s “Dare To Lead” Podcast,  Samantha Brown’s “Places To Love”, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and National Geographic’s  “Texas: Spirit and Soul” short film.

At home, Kam remains a very active participant in the Houston music scene, producing events that have featured up-and-coming acts from around the Gulf Coast area while leveraging her and The Suffers’ international platform to represent the City of Houston and champion her entrepreneurial approach to finding success in the arts for women, minorities, and independent artists. She currently serves on the board of HeadCount.org, as Governor for the Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy, and she also served as the inaugural Texas Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ambassador for the Texas Chapter of The Recording Academy.