“I’ve always been kind of a magical fairy woman who never really felt at home on Earth… does that make sense to anybody?”
Valerie June’s audience at her Grand Ole Opry debut clearly did NOT get her temperament, but her talent?
Positively undeniable.
In fact, everything about Valerie June is a total delight, from the flowers constantly adorning her locks to her syrupy Southern accent. Her bubbly personality and perpetual positivity have earned her a loyal following on Instagram where she practices live meditations and rituals for healing, cleansing and stillness.
Valerie June carried that practice into the studio when recording her 2021 album too. “In the making of The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, she added an element of ritual to every recording session,” her Opry write-up says, “including adorning the studio floor with mandalas made from fresh-picked flowers (a rite inspired by 19th-century author Clara Lucas Balfour’s assertion that flowers are undoubtedly “the stars of the earth”).” If that’s too earthy for you, bail out now, because there’s more. The Moon and Stars’s subtitle, Prescriptions for Dreamers, isn’t just a figurative name, but Valerie June’s “carefully curated collection of elixirs, contemplation questions, and daily practices assembled to help the listener along on their own dreamer’s journey” included with the album.
The video for “Call Me a Fool” opens with one of several meditative moments (or “little bitty spells” as VJ calls them) found on Moon and Stars, “African Proverb,” read by Stax Records’ legendary “Queen of Memphis Soul” Carla Thomas, who provides backing vocals as well. Of course it takes a legend to match Valerie June’s totally spell-binding sound. I tried to think of who I could begin to compare her with, but honestly, the only person Valerie June sounds like is herself.
When she opens her mouth, her soulful Southernness can’t help but fly out, but it’s immediately followed by her deep Appalachian, and Delta Blues vocal stylings. Her accent is amplified by a “half-yodel” trilling that’s entirely different from her frequently pitch-shifting notes, a technique called a blue note. (Notice those moments where she’s just on the brink of going flat, but never does. THAT is a blue note.) Valerie June navigates this lush vocal landscape while she plays banjo, ukelele, and guitar to accompany, forming the unique sound she calls “organic moonshine roots music.”
Valerie June’s the only person in the video and she’s more than enough. “Call Me a Fool” brings an absolute kaleidoscope of sound and visuals to the table that I guarantee will leave you searching for more.
And thankfully, her effort here did not go unrecognized. Though it didn’t win, “Call Me a Fool” was nominated for the Grammys’ Best American Roots Song. It was her first nomination, received on her THIRD label-released album. Now that she’s made contact with us earthlings, I’ve got a feeling we’ll be hearing so much more from the wonderfully stellar Valerie June.
(Ed. Note: I cannot bring myself to end this without sharing more Valerie June with you. Her cover of “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star is one of the best I’ve EVER heard. It’s a song I grew up with deep affection for and VJ’s version moved me. “Why The Bright Stars Glow” is another of VJ’s lovely songs featuring a legend, Mother Mavis Staples.)
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