Gig Alert: Valerie June

Valerie June
“Rain Dance”
Playing at: The Kitchen (512 West 19th Street, Chelsea) 
Get: Tickets ($12) | Directions

The first thing anyone notices about Valerie June is her impossible hair—a serpentine tangle of thick dreadlocks. Sitting beneath that hair is woman, slight of build, with a guitar and a voice that could melt mountains. June comes from Memphis, one of America’s great music cities, and makes music she describes as “Organic Moonshine Roots Music.” On “Rain Dance,” she channels East Tennessee grit to make a soulful, barebones folk song that draws power from its rough edges.