SPOTLIGHT: The Gift of Art as a Service [ESSAY]

Editor’s Note: Valerie June is No Depression’s Spotlight Artist for April 2025. Learn more about her life and new album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles, which was released April 11, in this feature.

I just got off the phone with Fiona Prine. I couldn’t have said it better. She was expressing how grateful she is that we have art through any turbulent times we might face. Although I’ve been invited to universities to speak, I’m not an academic. As a cleaning lady for seven years, I relate deeply to service-minded lyrics like, “Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis” or “She came from the land of the cotton, a land that was nearly forgotten by everyone.” Other remarks that resonate with me would be “You’re still chasing that dream” or “Maybe we’ll make it.”