Songwriters @ Scup: Valls, Ventre, Kimmel/Walking Medicine
Based in Durham, NC, Isabel Valls’ musical journey began in 2010 at local open mics, where she sang and played guitar, covering cherished yet lesser-known songs. In 2013, the songwriting bug bit her, prompting her to team up with local award-winning guitarist Jon Shain in 2014 to enhance her guitar skills. Shain went on to produce her original albums: “Awake Again” (2016) and “Isabel Taylor” (Isabel’s former name; 2019).
Performing since 2013, Isabel has graced stages both individually and collaboratively at songwriting showcases, festivals, and private events. Recently, she has joined forces with Barry Gray, a solo artist and Graymatter band member from Burlington, NC.
Hailing from Buffalo, NY, singing has been her lifelong passion, while songwriting serves as an outlet for processing and conveying her life experiences. Her songs often resonate strongly with audiences, with whom she finds profound connection.
Performing since 2013, Isabel has graced stages both individually and collaboratively at songwriting showcases, festivals, and private events. Recently, she has joined forces with Barry Gray, a solo artist and Graymatter band member from Burlington, NC.
Hailing from Buffalo, NY, singing has been her lifelong passion, while songwriting serves as an outlet for processing and conveying her life experiences. Her songs often resonate strongly with audiences, with whom she finds profound connection.
Walking Medicine is the musical vision of Jenny Kimmel, a Rockingham County, NC singer/songwriter who inhabits a kaleidoscope of roles: artist, poet, permaculturist. Kimmel’s songs in Walking Medicine reflect her varied, overlapping perspectives in music that shimmers in in-betweens. Her voice and lyrics blur genre boundaries, evoking Americana, folk, and roots music, echoing elements of old-time alongside influences from philosophy, art, and activism across movements and generations.
FJ Ventre got his start in Boston, MA, and cut his teeth as a bassist on that city’s vibrant music scene. He headed south to North Carolina in the early aughts, after he was assured by former high-school bandmate and current friend Jon Shain that the music scene in NC was thriving and that the water tasted like wine. Ventre concluded that the water was merely okay but that the music scene was indeed quite good so he stuck around, partnering with Shain (an NC music mainstay, fiery Piedmont Blues picker and songwriter) on several albums. Ventre quickly established himself as a sideman in the Triangle, playing bass live and/or in the studio with several of NC’s finest, including Jon Shain, Wes Collins, Barry Gray, Laurelyn Dossett, Chris Stamey, Wyatt Easterling, and many others. He can also be found manning the console at Good Luck Studio in Chapel Hill, where he records and produces other musical artists.
Event date:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Event address:
304 S. Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27401
