30 Aug OKAY PLAYER: Stones Don’t Stand A Chance Against Valerie June
If you have not yet encountered the music of Valerie June, we recommend you clean out your basement, stock up on candles and get yer waders on. Because–although she may not be popping up in your face every 5 minutes with snapchats, factoids and controversial soundbites, the way we’ve come to expect from our musical heroes and heroines–when she does come through, she comes through like a force of nature, possessed of a harmonic ferocity that could surely tear down levees and erode mountains. That fierce quality to her particular mix of neo-blues, soul & folk-rock is nicely summed up in the title of her recent album Pushin’ Against A Stone, which is, on the one hand, a tour-de-force of traditional musicianship of a quality that’s extremely rare in this day and age –and the introduction of a thoroughly distinctive new voice on the other. Okayplayer had the chance to connect with Ms. June recently, to get a little insight on the recording of Pushin’ Against A Stone, her collaborations with John Forté and others, as well as a singer’s-eye view of some of the powerful live performances (particularly on Late Night With David Letterman and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert) that have commanded our attention lately. Read more here.
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