Valerie June Has Joy in Her Soul

Biscuits & Jam

Meredith Corporation

Music Interviews, Arts, Food, Music

4.8 • 608 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Valerie June was raised in Humboldt, Tennessee, just north of Jackson, and though she now spends a good deal of time in New York, she still has a place in Humboldt that’s been passed down through her family. In 2018, Valerie was inducted into the Humboldt Hall of Fame, which she calls one of her greatest honors, and she often returns there to write music and reconnect with family. In 2021, the last time she was on Biscuits & Jam, Valerie was nominated for a Grammy for “Call Me a Fool,” which she recorded with the legendary Memphis singer Carla Thomas, and since then she’s published a children’s book called Somebody to Love and an interactive journal called Light Beams. She’s toured with artists such as Dave Matthews and Tyler Childers, appeared at all sorts of festivals, and now she’s got a fantastic new album out called Owls, Omens and Oracles, the title of which was inspired by a trip back home. Sid talks to Valerie about her experience with homelessness as a teenager, what it was like to meet and work with Mavis Staples, and her connection to her great-grandmother Bessie. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by: Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:27.2	Hey, y'all.
0:31.9	Welcome to Biscuits and Jam from Southern Living.
0:34.0	I'm your host, Sid Evans.
0:35.5	And today I'm talking with one of the most intriguing
0:37.8	artists I've ever had on the show. Valerie June was raised in Humboldt, Tennessee, just north of Jackson.
0:44.7	And though she now spends a good deal of time in New York, she still has a place in Humboldt that's been
0:49.7	passed down through her family. In 2018, Valerie was inducted into the Humboldt Hall of Fame,
0:56.0	which she calls one of her greatest honors, and she often returns there to write music and
1:00.9	reconnect with family. In 2021, Valerie was nominated for a Grammy for Call Me a Fool, which she
1:08.4	recorded with the legendary Memphis singer Carla Thomas. And since then,
1:12.9	she's published a children's book called Somebody to Love and an interactive journal called
1:17.8	Lightbeams. She's toured with artists such as Dave Matthews and Tower Childers, taught college classes,
1:23.8	and now she has a fantastic new album out called Owls, Omen, and Oracles, the title of
1:31.4	which was inspired by a trip back home. We'll talk about all that, her experience with homelessness
1:37.3	as a teenager, what it was like to meet and work with Mavis Staples, and her connection to her
1:43.7	great-grandmother Bessie, all in this
	...

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