<< Back to Upcoming Shows

Date: Thursday, April 24

June Star was formed in 1998 by singer/songwriter Andrew Grimm. Since then, they have put out 16 records, toured most of the US, and have gone into debt. June Star are named after a character in Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find. There have been many members of June Star; the current line-up is: Andrew Grimm on acoustic electric and electric guitar and vocals with Dave Hadley on pedal steel. And how often do we find masterful pedal steel players in Chicago? Certainly not as often as I’d like.

2019’s The Late Spring showcases June Star’s bar band chops over heartbroken laments. Album opener, Heaven Only Knows, finds Grimm admitting to, “thinking of you when I shouldn’t be.” It’s an open road windows down thinking country rock tune that could slip into the midst of a Son Volt or Bottle Rockets set. Waiting on You expands the record’s sonic landscape with horns, piano, and a prominent pedal steel’s mournful wanderings.  – Americana Highways

Their 2018 release, East on Green, accomplishes the rare feat of combining contradictions. It’s a direct and emotionally uneasy, but somehow simultaneously comforting, contribution to the Americana music catalogue. Lyrically, the songs confront painful elements of the human experience, but the degree of distress is juxtaposed with reassuring guitar (and sometimes fiddle) tones, harmonious melodic styles and rhythms, while front man Andrew Grimm’s vocal qualities emote secure resignation. Grimm writes all the lyrics, which are unmistakable poetry, and his vocal register flirts with the minor key and at times achieves a more guttural, gritty growl. – Americana Highways

Andrew may sing a few songs about love for us in his soulful baritone. Watch It Is Done and Telegraph to get a feel for the band, then RSVP!

Artist website:  June Star