Valerie June: Artist You Should Know

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Dan Auerbach magic touch continues!

In addition to leading one of the biggest rock bands of the moment, The Black Keys singer/guitarist has a pretty incredible track record as a producer – working on new releases from Bombino and Hanni El Khatib (both appearing at the Santa Monica Pier tomorrow night!)

He also lent his special touch to Tennessee native Natalie June’s debut “Pushin’ Against A Stone”. As KCRW DJ Anne Litt says, “her music oozes the Mississippi River as much as it does Jeff Buckley and Stax records.” She was clearly influenced by the sounds of R&B, Appalachia, gospel and much more.

The station favorite, “Workin’ Woman Blues”, was actually produced by Valerie’s bassist Peter Sabak.

Kevin Augunas, who’s worked with The Lumineers and Florence and the Machine, also worked on the album. If that’s not enough to convince you it’s worth a listen, Booker T Jones even makes an appearance.

Stream the ENTIRE album in full as part of KCRW’s Album Preview series right now and see her at the Bootleg on September 20.

RR