Booker T & Valerie June

This April Bluesfest Touring presents VALERIE JUNE  and BOOKER T. JONES in two exciting sideshows.

Catchy, big melodies that just make you want to dance. This is everything you need to know about VALERIE JUNE, but we guarantee you’ll want to know more the minute you hear her vintage wail.

‘Valerie June’s combination of country moonshine and Deep South soul make her a major star-in-waiting’ – Evening Standard

Tennessee native VALERIE JUNE is a self-taught musician, singer and songwriter who came to the fore after a mesmerising debut UK TV performance on Later…With Jools Holland and it has snowballed from there.

‘A moment worth waiting for…her voice that really lingers in the memory’ – The Observer

Her timeless sound is a stunningly emotive amalgamation of Bues, Folk, Gospel, Soul, Appalachian and Bluegrass (including irresistible banjo) that seems to sit outside of any defined musical era. Like a potent distillation bubbling on a Prohibition-era porch, VALERIE JUNE makes self-styled “organic moonshine roots music”, music for the porch parties of today, a party where she strums her guitar, plucks her banjo, opens her mouth and delta-blues-country stridently sashays out, a striking peal somewhere between Dolly Parton and Billie Holiday.

‘Born to sing’ – Sunday Times Culture

Her new album, Pushin’ Against a Stone (which entered the Billboard 200 Charts at 41) saw her collaborating, writing and producing with Dan Auerbach (multi-Grammy winners The Black Keys & Dr. John) and Kevin Augunas (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Sinéad O’Connor, Florence & The Machine) to create a truly unique sound. The album also features another Grammy award winner, the legendary Booker T. Jones.

The legend that is BOOKER T. JONES remains largely responsible for the rise and endurance of modern soul music. Most known for classics such as “Green Onions” and “Hang ‘Em High” JONES remains the benchmark for the genre to date. Such talent has been industrially recognised as an inductee into the highly acclaimed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Musicians Hall of Fame. In 2007, BOOKER T.JONES was also awarded the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award and formally galvanised into music legend history. He truly is a rare talent who continues to propel his genre beyond its musical boundaries keeping his music fresh and revitalised with a hint of soul’s old school charm.

Having rubbed shoulder’s in the recording studio with the likes of Ray Charles, George Harrison, Sam and Dave, Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan, JONES has experienced and learned from the best of the best. Recently JONE’s has featured with his BLUESFEST TOURING special guest VALERIE JUNE on her latest album release for this year.
“Sound the Alarm is the sound of summer” – The Boston Review

This time around BOOKER T. JONES will be bringing his 10th album, Sound the Alarm (2013) which sees sparkling collaborations with some of contemporary R&B’s most gifted young voices. Sound the Alarm also marks his historic return to Stax Records, the Memphis soul label. In true form the album has received rave reviews:
“Booker T. Jones is the consummate musician” – USA Today.