The Transcendent Valerie June

If you’ve ever doubted magic is real, then you've yet to see Valerie June play live.

Last night I was blissfully whisked into a wonderful world of dreams, manifestations, roots-blues-soul-Americana heaven. "But with none of that woo-woo bullshit," Valerie June proclaimed with her Tennesee twang. Like a priestess of hope, Valerie entranced The Fonda Theater audience from the moment she walked onto the stage.

Her songs are soulful, spiritual, funky, complex, yet childlike. Funny thing, I can't say I've got a favorite song of hers. Instead, I love playing her music because it's all rooted in one vibe, JOY. I've found it impossible to hear her records and not be changed for the better. Her music is poetry, meditation, and a sonic transformation from spirit to reality.

I've heard musicians, new and old, gripe there are only so many chords, melodies, beats, and rhyming patterns in music; things are bound to sound the same. Well, Ms. June didn't get that memo. Valerie's voice, songs, and lyrics cast such a spell on me that I purposely chose to remain willfully ignorant about her process. For seven years, I enjoyed wondering, what kind of artist can absolutely shatter conformity and still be so attainable with her music? I dared not dig deep into interviews or research lest my whimsy be shattered.