Valerie June

Blending her different musical influences, singer Valerie June has forged her own style of country and soul. Born Valerie June Hockett in Jackson, Tennessee, on January 10, 1982, she grew up in a musical environment with a concert promoter father and sang gospel in church. Moving to Memphis in the early 2000s, she sang with the duo Bella Sun, before embarking on a solo career. After the 2010 release of the EP Valerie June and the Tennessee Express, featuring the Old Crow Medicine Show, the singer and multi-instrumentalist launched an online fundraising campaign to record her first self-produced albums, The Way of the Weeping Willow (2006) and Mountain of Rose Quartz (2008). She moved from Memphis to Williamsburg, near Brooklyn, and was subsequently introduced to Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), who oversaw the sessions for Pushin' Against a Stone (2013). This album, ranked No. 41 on the Billboard 200, was also well received by the critics, and led to several tours as far afield as Europe. Nominated for a Blues Music Award, Valerie June continues on Concord Records with The Order of Time (2017), featuring a horn section and Norah Jones among the backing singers. It consolidates the artist's status as a songwriter whose musical style is a veritable melting pot of Americana, from primitive folk and soul to blues, country and gospel. In 2021, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is released on Fantasy Records, featuring the Grammy-nominated lead single "Call Me a Fool", a duet with soul great Carla Thomas. The latter is also a guest on "Friendship", a tribute to the Stax Records label, followed by the album Owls, Omens and Oracles, including the participation of The Blind Boys of Alabama on "Changed".