INTERVIEW: The Light Inside of Valerie June
08/29 @ Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Tivoli
**This interview originally appeared in our August 2026 print issue**
Photos provided by Playhouse Stage Company
“I love singing, so I followed my heart and let my voice teach me. It has hard places and soft places, and it taught me about emotion and feeling.”
While Valerie June might not be a household name (yet, anyway), she has earned herself the position of being a Grammy-nominated artist who tours internationally on a regular basis. Her music is rooted in gospel, country, and blues, only enhanced by the magic she possesses and connections she builds with her audiences that make these accomplishments possible. In fact, I can attest first hand that she truly becomes everyone’s fairy godmother, through her stories, songs, and presence on both her albums and with her live shows.
From the first time my wife heard her music, to the tears she cried when we saw her perform live for the first time, June has been etched into the very fabric of our lives. Her music was on repeat throughout my wife’s pregnancy, even soundtracking her labor and delivery. Our daughter’s name itself came from a conversation between pushes: “What do you think of Valerie for a girl?” my wife asked. “How about June?” I replied. To which my wife then answered, “I always liked the name Juniper.” I agreed, and we call her Junie for short. I never imagined that I’d be telling this story to Valerie June herself when we spoke on July 9 — Juniper’s original due date.
“I didn’t know I was gonna need a kleenex. Well, you know what I'm talking about when I say how cool my fans are. That is the coolest thing I've ever heard because I don’t have kids of my own. What a sweet name, Juniper. I love it.”
The reason we spoke was in anticipation of June’s performance at the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Festival in Tivoli, NY on Sunday, August 29 as she continues to tour in support of her 2025 release, Owls, Omens, and Oracles. The record, produced by fellow musician M. Ward, was seen as a departure in sound from her previous releases, leaning more into rock-based influences. June had admired Ward for his abilities and reach across genres; he helped her make this album feel like the truest to herself of anything she’s ever released.
“I got a chance to make music around my voice — more of a chance than I've ever had — and I really enjoyed that. I love sharing those songs with a live audience,” she tells me.
Her voice, of course, is extremely unique. Her speaking voice, sure, but her singing voice. It is something that her mother and grandmother reminisced with her about, telling her that when she first started talking, they looked at each other and said ‘this little girl sounds like a little old man.’ Of course, growing up with her dad being a music promoter, she was always interested in singing and eventually started to — of course her mother and grandmother didn’t think she would ever become a singer, but June tells me that didn’t deter her.
“I love singing, so I followed my heart and let my voice teach me. It has hard places and soft places, and it taught me about emotion and feeling,” she says.
Photo by Travys Owen
June equates her voice to the likes of Tom Waits, Karen Dalton, or Nina Simone. Voices that bring emotion and feeling that might take some getting used to. Oddly enough, the first time she heard Simone, she hated it. After her first divorce in her early 20s, a friend played it for her again and she felt like all of the emotions she’d been feeling came together. Suddenly, she thought Simone was the greatest singer she’d ever heard.
“It took experience for me to truly appreciate her voice and I think I have that kind of voice,” she admits. “You’re not going to love every song at first, because these songs are going to make you feel something.”
The songs come to June by way of voices she hears, which she refers to as ‘fairies.’ They bring her songs while she sleeps, while she’s awake, and even while doing chores around the house. From the time she was a kid, she would be delivered these songs, which she would then write out vocally, before moving to Memphis when she was 18 and playing in a duo called Bella Sun. When the duo broke up in the early 2000’s, however, she was at a crossroads.
“When we broke up, I had no one to play with so I had to learn how to play instruments. Since then, I've been learning banjo, ukulele, guitar, and a little keys,” June elaborates. “Really it’s been a couple of decades of being a student of the songs. Learning to be patient, because it’s about the music and the experience of being able to communicate with people in ways that don't always use words.”
That journey has led to many incredible opportunities, like having her song “Call Me A Fool” nominated for Best American Roots Song at the 2022 Grammy Awards, or her latest role as support act for most of Ani DiFranco’s 2026 tour. DiFranco’s another artist who June admires, from her songwriting and musical talents, to her stage presence and personality.
“She’s a very strong and independent woman and artist. Just getting to watch her on stage every single night, and her fans, and her crew, it's just been the absolute best time.”
In between some of those dates, June has also seized the opportunity to play some headlining shows around the globe — some places she’s never been before, and some she hasn’t been to in a long time. One of those first-time places will be the 153-acre artists’ retreat, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a place that she is very excited to play, even wishing she had the time to hang out and explore more of the happenings.
“They have Yoga, dance, so much. I wish I could stay longer, I just finished my yoga practice this morning and I love it. I just want to be so much more involved with what's going on at the cultural center,” June goes on. “I have a show the day before and after, so I just hope I can get back sometime and experience just being there.”
Tickets are available now at https://kaatsbaan.org/performances-festivals
He is speaking from experience. Smith has been with the company for 30 years and recalls his time in a youth production of Robin Hood before the main show of the evening, Guys and Dolls. Experiencing the energy and power of live theater, even at a young age, changed his life.
“I’ve stayed involved for the reason that I got involved, which was that it’s such a welcoming, accessible environment,” he describes.
Times have changed since Smith first arrived. Economics is a driving force of change, the worry on every artist’s mind. PSC is proud to be a theater full of paid professionals, but money directed toward the arts is growing slim.
Since its founding, Park Playhouse has been largely funded by the City of Albany. After the recession in 2009, their funding was cut and PSC depended on their sponsors. However, in the wake of the pandemic, sponsorship changed with charitable funding directed away from the arts, which is affecting regional theaters across the country.
Proceeds for this production were leveraged by Mayor Dr. Dorcey Applyrs, utilizing the Albany Community Development Agency grant program. Sponsorship and the City’s financial support are essential to maintaining PSC’s work throughout the year.
“If we don’t have sponsors, we wouldn’t be doing a show outside,” Smith explains. “If we don’t have support, we can’t do a show for free and still pay our staff.”
This production represents a beacon of hope for the future of PSC. If even one child in the audience feels the way that Smith did years ago, immersed in the magic of Robin Hood, he’s confident the path ahead is bright for PSC and the next generation of performers.
“The roots that I hope that we're building for the future are by changing the program's focus to be all about young people,” says Smith. “We’re really making sure that another generation of kids gets introduced to the theater at that venue without those barriers to access, just like I did, and like so many generations of kids did before me.”
In addition to its Washington Park programming, PSC will present a full summer season at the Cohoes Music Hall, including Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Footloose: The Musical, and 13: The Musical. Tickets for the summer productions at playhousestage.org or by calling the box office at (518) 434-0776.