ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

June Star is coming to Davidson to play at Birdsnest [102 B South Main St.] on March 14 at 8:00 p.m. They are a country-rock band, described as being similar to Wilco and Neil Young. They released an album back in November called “The Late Spring” on the indie label, WhistlePig Records. They will be playing as a duo. Go to this link to hear their album.

“…unmistakable poetry and his vocal register flirts with the minor key and at times achieves a more guttural, gritty growl” – Americana Highways

“I wrote this song directly after finishing Bob Mehr’s book about The Replacements called Trouble Boys. It’s really difficult to learn about your heroes; their ups, downs, and more downs. Sometimes you’d rather not know their story: it dissolves the dream; rarely does it live up to the one you made up in your head.” – Andrew Grimm

Andrew Grimm is the singer-songwriter behind the long-running Baltimore, Maryland band, June Star, and has developed a following around the city and beyond. The group was formed in 1998, and for nearly 20 years, he has been blurring country and rock and roll sounds while writing songs about love, reminiscent of The Replacements, Lou Reed, Big Star, and Jimmie Rodgers. Whether with a band or solo acoustic, Grimm’s words and voice cut with immediacy and emotion; his performances invite the listener to see where it hurts and how it gets better.

Andrew’s blend of folk-rock with his gravel voice, paired with Katie Feild’s enticing harmonies, creates a sad sounding but uplifting emotion at the same time. It’s like a rose growing out of the sidewalk’s cracks. The jangling guitars and slow moaning drums are melodic behind the vocals, bitter and sweet at the same time. The lyrics of “Boys In Trouble” address the beauty and tragedy of being in a band; and how it can be deceiving to the naked eye. The stark words, filled with weariness and warning, are just what they are:

Burnin’ up all the things
That you love
It’s not the same thing
As giving up

Some day you’ll find
Yourself alone
Waking up
Staring at your phone

Nothing nobody says
Can change the score
You swing at every pitch
Like your dad before

Sad truth is right
Under your nose
From a bottle to
Your bloodstream it goes

Hours and days
And weeks and months and years
Piece by piece by piece
We disappear

Burnin’ up all the things
That I love
It’s not the same thing
As giving up

Some day you’ll find
Yourself alone
Waking up
Staring at a phone