Photos and re-cap by Whitney Lerch
With Three Rivers Arts Fest in full swing, people packed shoulder to shoulder at the point and the dark, ominous skies moving in, Valerie June hit the Dollar Bank Main Stage for a truly inspiration performance. Her free spirit and open heart are truly infectious and simply being in her presence will bring a calming sense of freedom over you. in fact, almost the second she started singing, those ominous skies lightened and nary a single drop of rain ever hit the crowd.
Donned in a teal sequined skirt, a fluttery, shimmering top and a rotation of string instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, a banjo and “Baby”, the banjo ukulele, she serenaded Pittsburgh with an upbeat collection of songs of the folk, blues, bluegrass and gospel variety. It’s difficult to categorize Valerie June’s music as a specific genre, as her songs cross genres and are truly the child of all of the world’s inspiration, that so many of us let pass us by. Among others, she graced us with Astral Plane, You Can’t Be Told and Workin Woman Blues. The songs were peppered with stories of Valerie’s life, how her music is given to her and her love of Pittsburgh. If fact, there was even talk of her entertaining the idea of moving to the Steel City…if only we could be so lucky!
