Dakota grew up in Hillsboro, Kentucky exploring the mountains, playing in the creeks and living in a land of true freedom. Goats, pigs, packs of dogs, you name it. But here and there, times were tough, back and forth to foster homes, alcoholism and poverty. “The feeling of being housed with strangers as a kid…you’ll grow up real quick…and its lonely” Parker says. But everything seemed to change when his parents got him a guitar in 2011, lifting him out of reality into a new world where Parker learned to channel what he felt, a world that felt like home.

His first songs were inspired by the local bluegrass players, 1990s country and southern gospel. At the age of 18, after his mothers passing, Dakota was offered a job in Indiana at an RV repair business. With one hour to decide, off he went with $40 in his pocket. Job after job, factory after factory, Dakota did not feel like he found his place. In 2023, Parker quit his job to go all-in on music. “Only thing that gave me a sense of importance as a kid, was music…so thats what I’m gonna do.” Parker says.

His first single, “Rebel on the Run,” quickly made waves and received radio airplay internationally. Two EPs, “Kentucky Gap” and “Higher Ground,” painted pictures of his turbulent upbringing while developing his identity as an up-and-coming Americana artist. His songs range from hauntingly empty to pulsing arrangements. With his Appalachian drawl and conviction for emotional honesty in songwriting, Parker plays in a way that honors the local musicians and the upbringing that made him. Now living in north central Indiana and raising a family of his own, he continues to tour around Indiana. Now in 2025, Parker plans to release his first debut album.

The Late Spring from June Star arrives in late fall to stoke our fires for the oncoming winter. Bristling with the heat of a barely contained fire, June Star’s confessional country rock invites us in to battle the blaze or find close comfort dancing to keep warm. Baltimore based June Star has been the primary musical outlet for Andrew Grimm since 1998. 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. “Tired of waiting for wishes you wish,…there ain’t much here a fire won’t fix,” sings Grimm to introduce us to a “Long Low Simmering Kiss” – a plodding drive alongside a James McMurtry sing-talking baritone. “Used to You” introduces prominent female vocals by Katie Feild to the mix over a mellowed “We Will Rock You” drum beat, a thumping bass, and haunting pedal steel. “When the end comes we’ll clearly see what was want and what was need, I’m getting used to you, I’m getting used to you,” their voices intertwine.

“Boys in Trouble” introduces us to a sorry state of affairs, “burning up all the things that you love, is not the same thing as giving up, someday you’ll find yourself alone…the sad truth is right under your nose and from the bottle to your blood stream it goes.” Though the circumstances may seem unfortunate, “Boys in Trouble” is a beautiful ballad brimming with sincerity in the midst of a simple yet precise arrangement delicately delivered from seasoned players’ hands. Electric guitars return on “New Moon” as does a sense of renewal and optimism in the lyrics. “I Might Fall” builds on this energy as Grimm sings over a guitar driven groove twist on Tom Petty and Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell’s guitars in “Listen to Her Heart,” “I can’t remember where I slept, but I dreamt from you, you were telling me it’s all right, you know what to do.” The Late Spring closes with “Heaven Please” – a sweet dessert after the band’s main offering.