Following the release of her critically-acclaimed album The Moon & Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers in March 2021, GRAMMY-nominated artist Valerie June embarked on a highly anticipated U.S. tour that kicked off in March and continues through May. Now the celebrated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is releasing a dazzling cover (and accompanying performance video) of one of the most achingly romantic songs of the ’90s, Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You.”
While the track has been covered many times since its initial release in 1993, it should come as no surprise that Valerie pulls in her exquisitely tender balance of modern and traditional sonic influences to create something between otherworldly and positively human.
The emotional honesty and deeply meditative spirit that the Memphis-born artist consistently delivers in all of her original work is certainly not lost in this cover. Valerie takes the immediacy that Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star’s lead singer) originally brought to the track and molds it into something entirely her own.
June’s album The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers was one of 2021’s most celebrated releases. The follow-up to her 2013 breakthrough, Pushin’ Against A Stone, and the widely adored The Order of Time — a 2017 effort that earned the admiration of Bob Dylan and landed on best-of-the-year lists — The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers is a landmark work for the Memphis-born, Brooklyn-based auteur.
The recently released special digital Deluxe Edition features 23 tracks in all: The Moon and Stars’ 14 original tracks, six reimagined, acoustic versions plus three brand-new covers that align with the album’s theme: Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon,” John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer.”
The album’s “Call Me A Fool,” featuring Stax legend Carla Thomas, was nominated for Best American Roots Song this year’s GRAMMY Awards, the first nomination of June’s illustrious career.
June’s tour is wrapping up on a sold-out date at Ram’s Head On Stage in Annapolis, MD. Catch the end of her 2022 headlining tour while some tickets are still available. For more information visit https://valeriejune.com/#tour
*Feature image photo credit: Renata Raksha
