Martin Ambassador Valerie June’s Big Year

Features
By published

2014 was the year of the talented singer/songwriter and Martin Ambassador Valerie June.

Valerie’s “organic moonshine roots” music has captivated audiences.

Her 2013 album Pushin’ Against A Stone, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, has won glowing reviews and earned Valerie a nomination for ‘Best New Artist Debut’ at the Blues Music Awards.

This year, Valerie has toured in the United States and Europe and performed at big name festivals like Bonnaroo and Newport Folk Festival. With praises in Vogue, NPR, and CBS News, Valerie is slated for continued success in 2015.

To learn more about Valerie June, click here.

Acoustic Nation
Acoustic Nation

Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.

More about artists

“This particular way of concluding Bohemian Rhapsody will be hard to beat!” Brian May with Benson Boone, Green Day with the Go-Gos, and Lady Gaga rocking a Suhr – Coachella’s first weekend delivered the guitar goods

“I was writing songs from eight years old, but once I got a guitar I began to deeply identify with music… building an arsenal of influences”: How Lea Thomas uses guitars her dad built to conjure a magic synthesis of folk, pop and the ethereal

“For years, the only 12-string acoustics I got my hands on, the necks always pulled off after a bit. I earned a lot of money replacing them!” Why one of the UK’s most prolific luthiers is a bolt-on acoustic die-hard
See more latest
Most Popular
Patrick James Eggle is photographed in. his workshop with a vintage screwdriver in the foreground.
“For years, the only 12-string acoustics I got my hands on, the necks always pulled off after a bit. I earned a lot of money replacing them!” Why one of the UK’s most prolific luthiers is a bolt-on acoustic die-hard
A black-and-white photo of Lea Thomas with her T-style electric guitar
“I was writing songs from eight years old, but once I got a guitar I began to deeply identify with music… building an arsenal of influences”: How Lea Thomas uses guitars her dad built to conjure a magic synthesis of folk, pop and the ethereal
Sade Sanchez
“I liked that they were the underdogs. It was not the mainstream guitar. It was something that was hard to find”: Vox guitars deserve a second look – just ask L.A. Witch’s Sade Sanchez, who’s teaming hers with ugly pedals for nouveau garage rock thrills
Eric Clapton performs onstage with the Yardbirds in Brighton, England on June 11, 1964
“I suppose I felt that I deserved it for the amount of seriousness that I’d put into it. My head was huge!” “Clapton is God” graffiti made him a guitar legend when he was barely 20 – he says he was far from uncomfortable with the adulation at the time
John Sykes performs onstage with Whitesnake at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on November 10, 1984
“I was in a frenzy about it being trapped and burnt up. I knew I'd never be able to replace it”: After being pulled from the wreckage of a car crash, John Sykes ran back to his burning vehicle to save his beloved '76 Les Paul
Steve Stevens' Ciari Ascender
“It holds its own purely as a playable guitar. It’s really cool for the traveling musician – you can bring it on a flight and it fits beneath the seat”: Why Steve Stevens put his name to a foldable guitar
Andy Fairweather Low poses with his Gibson guitars
“I wanted to play more, and it was inappropriate with Eric or Roger. I was not the lead guitarist, and I wanted to be”: Clapton, Waters, Satriani and me – Andy Fairweather Low on his greatest collaborations and finally taking center stage
Margo Price Gibson J-45
“It’s one of the most beautiful, living, breathing pieces of art – all the grime has just aged into the wood”: Margo Price on playing Willie Nelson’s Trigger, growing up with Gibson and bringing her signature J-45 to life
Johnny Marr sits against a brick wall and plays his new Martin M7 seven-string acoustic guitar
“I’ve got a friend in a well-known band, and he says Martins have unnecessary bottom-end. My retort was always: ‘Well, you need to learn to play properly’”: Johnny Marr on the magic of his 7-string signature Martin – and his fight with capo addiction
Danny Gatton performs onstage at The Ritz in New York City on June 4, 1981
“It's like the guitar is built for 10 fingers and two hands and he's got three hands and 17 fingers”: He was called “The Humbler” and regarded as one of the world's greatest under-the-radar guitarists – and he would solo with a beer bottle and a towel