Why Valerie June Sings The Blues

After years of struggle, the Tennessee singer made a modernday soul classic and became Bob Dylan’s favorite new artist.

- David Browne

EVEN IN TRENDY WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn, Valerie June stands out: star-studded sunglasses, a sparkly silver blouse and a plume of thick dreadlocks that sprout in all directions. At her favorite neighborhood bistro, she attracts the attention of a bald customer who approaches her table to hand her his business card. “Love your hair,” he says flirtatiously. “Maybe you could give me some.” “I might!” June replies with a laugh.

June, 35, smiles again when asked about another compliment she received recently. In an interview posted on his website, Bob Dylan said he’d been listening to June, whose latest album, The Order of Time, is a blend of spacey hippie soul, blues and folk with June’s pinched, modern-Appalachian voice at the center. “I lost it,” June says of the Dylan shout-out. “My biggest gift, I feel, is songwriting. So to have the god of songwriting mention he was listening to my music is huge. I never went to college, so I felt like when he mentioned my name, I got my degree that day.”