Valerie McQueen at Pale Fire

Unhurried and authentic, singer-songwriter Valerie McQueen uses her voice as an instrument to tell life’s stories. A little bit folk, sometimes country, Valerie chronicles a life shaped by seasons through melody and rhythm, sharing experiences that we can all relate to.

Influenced by strong female voices like Gillian Welch and Allison Krauss, Valerie marries her powerful voice, acoustic guitar and purposeful lyrics to create songs that embody the stories she’s telling.

“I want to be able to take someone on a three to four minute snapshot of life that we can connect on – like asking, ‘I’ve felt this, have you ever felt this?”, she explains.

Virginia-raised and Virginia-based, Valerie has called the Shenandoah Valley home for the past 12 years. Together with her family, she weaves music into her life, using her craft to document her experience. After a season of raising young children, Valerie is recharged with new experiences to share through music, shaped by vulnerability and confidence.

“As a songwriter, it’s felt a lot like a start and stop, pressing the gas pedal and then pushing the brakes… trying to keep this thing of music, which is so much a part of who I am, alive through the hills and valleys of life”, she shares.

Valerie uses her voice and melodies to create projects that tell of a shared human experience, beautiful, genuine, and shaped by life’s seasons.

In her words, “there are a lot of songs I have inside of me that I’m ready to write.”