Loudon Wainwright III

Chris Smither

The Englert Theatre

Playing is the joy and satisfaction of touring, but it comes with the hard part — travel, the endless miles on a bus. There’s no dodging the wear and tear, and Little Feat has been playing for quite a while. With tongue stuck somewhat in cheek, Little Feat announces “The Last Farewell Tour,” which will begin in April 2026. It’s definitely not an absolute, never-gonna-play-again statement. This wind-down will take several years to accomplish, and during this time, Feat will continue to perform and record as long as they are able. It’s a retirement from touring.

Little Feat began in 1969 when Frank Zappa told Lowell George he should start his own band. As Lowell happened to have a pretty small shoe size, the name became obvious. He found a partner/keyboard player in Bill Payne and a drummer in Richie Hayward. After a few transitions, they added Kenny Gradney (bass), Sam Clayton (percussion), Paul Barrere (guitar) and eventually Fred Tackett (guitar), and began a now 56-year journey that has produced dozens of songs – “Dixie Chicken,” “Oh, Atlanta,” “Willin’,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub” – and a thousand memories. One result was one of the best live albums in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, Waiting for Columbus.

Little Feat: The Last Farewell Tour

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.. 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 Television Season 46. Acclaimed by greats as diverse as Vernon Reid and Michael McKean, Venson continues to evolve as an artist, whether it’s on Texas blues focused albums like Love Transcends, the eclectic electro-funk and rock of Ghost in The Machine or the mesmerizing soul and R&B of The Love Anthology. With her passionate commitment to exploring diverse sounds and styles, Venson’s artistry is only going to continue to grow.

Jackie Venson

Wildwood Saloon

Here’s a rare chance to see two venerable musicians.
It was the late 1960’s on Charles Street in Boston, outside one of the legendary clubs during the folk revival era, these two new-to-the-scene young musicians first met. They’ve stayed friends ever since with their paths crossing at folk festivals and concert halls and folk clubs.  Over the years, the two have guest-appeared on each other’s record, Chris sang on “Somebody Else” for Loudon’s Older Than My Old Man Now record. Then Loudon lent a hand on Chris’ 50-year career retrospective recording Still on the Levee (singing on “What They Say”).  Throughout the decades, they each have made their own individual and indelible mark on the contemporary singer-songwriter scene with Wainwright, known for his “Dead Skunk” song and Smither, known for “Love You Like A Man”. They have both recorded numerous albums and continue to tour as journeymen. Acting is also a common thread they share with Wainwright having been in many plays, TV shows, and movies including the hit TV show M.A.S.H and on Broadway Pump Boys and Dinettes. Smither recently made his acting debut in the short film The Singers. Their most recent recordings are Wainwright’s Live In London (2025) and Smither’s  All About the Bones (2024). 

Loudon Wainwright III & Chris Smither