Ally Venable

“With her heels, sequins and Les Paul growling on a leash, she’s one of Ruf’s most head-turning young artists,” wrote Classic Rock, “and while the instrumental prowess can be taken as read, Real Gone marks a growing maturity in the Texan’s songcraft.”

In February 2024, with the dust still settling from Real Gone, the Money & Power sessions saw Ally and producer/drummer Tom Hambridge push through the doors of Nashville’s famous Soundstage Studios. And while the studio band was strictly A-list, as always, Ally’s new songs are the real stars. That attitude is palpable on opener “Brown Liquor,” Ally’s battlecry decorated by a stinging guest guitar solo from the Mississippi hotshot Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

“Maybe Someday” is a blissful moment of redemptive soul, carried along by horns and barbed lyrics aimed at an old flame. Next up is the white-hot title track, with Ally’s guitar set to scorch and a seething message.

“Money & Power shouts to the masses,” she explains, “that women are not to be doubted in their ability to thrive in the world.”

Vital right to the end, Money & Power plays out with “Stepping Stone’s” earthy roar of empowerment, the shuddering, spooky, tremolo-soaked groove of “Feel That Sting, ” and the dustblown rocker “Unbreakable,” where Ally goes toe-to-toe with New York powerhouse Shemekia Copeland.

“That song spreads a message of women that have been oppressed,” she says, “to rise to the occasion and break above it all.”

Money & Power is a modern roots record that plays by its own rules and marches to the beat of its own drum. The same could be said for Ally herself. “I’m thrilled to release this album,” she says.