Curated artwork, Seventies-style wood-panneled walls, a neat display of chip bags and sparkling waters for sale – if walking into Found Sound rehearsal studio feels like walking into a co-working space or a hip new office, founder Jackie Venson’s vision is going according to plan.
“The whole mission statement is: Yes, this is a real job,” says Venson, a respected working musician who knows that better than most. “Come here and be treated like an actual professional and also have a good time.”
The well-known blues guitarist and songwriter spent eight years rehearsing in rental rooms that smelled like whoever was in there last, fermenting in a lack of air conditioning and maintenance and, probably, building code adherence.
“Everybody else has a real place to go. You can rent out an office space, it’s very nice, it’s very clean, it’s up to code,” Venson says. “Musicians and artists deserve respect. They deserve to have a real place to go.”
When the native Austinite bought her own home and transformed its converted garage into a practice and recording studio with the help of her interior designer sister Christina Venson, her bandmates joked that “if people knew that this was an option, they might actually dream in music again.”
Inspired by those rare shared practice spaces that did make Venson feel respected – she gives a shout-out to Space ATX in South Austin and Round Rock’s Da’woodSHED – and her new home studio, the working musician, sister in tow, set about transforming an old office at 305 Victor into a series of rooms that could accommodate apartment dwellers, late-night shredders, and all musicians looking to take their craft seriously in North Austin.
“Musicians and artists deserve respect. They deserve to have a real place to go.”
Jackie Venson
Each room comes equipped with a PA, an eight-channel mixer, two microphones in stands, four XLR instrument cables, and a power strip. Drum kits and bass amp backlines are available in some rooms for an additional fee, and Venson keeps the place stocked with extra cables and amps so forgotten gear doesn’t get in the way of rehearsal time.
“I want to try to make music feel like a real job again, like a respectable position, like it actually takes skill and time; like artists actually deserve respect for the time and effort that they put into potentially being able to entertain the masses,” says Venson. “I think that it’s a very legitimate job and I don’t think that a lot of music spaces treat it that way.”
This article appears in December 5 • 2025.