Artist Spotlight: June Fallow
Headliner Record · 27 Aug 2026 · 6 min read
We caught up with June Fallow to talk about diary-entry songwriting, cheap guitars, and the chorus that became “Paper Crown”.
Some songs read like diary entries and land like choruses — that is exactly how June Fallow writes. “Paper Crown” stopped our whole review panel mid-sentence.
We caught up with June to talk about the music, the process, and the journey so far.
Listen first
“Paper Crown” — June Fallow
The conversation
Q1
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from and what's your music journey?
I'm June, from Dublin. I started writing songs at fourteen on a guitar with a cracked headstock that wouldn't stay in tune — which probably explains why my songs lean melancholy. I've played every open mic in this city twice.
Q2
How would you describe your sound?
Diary entries with choruses. Quiet verses that don't stay quiet. Somewhere between folk confession and indie rock release.
Q3
What inspired your latest track?
“Paper Crown” is about winning something that turns out to be worth nothing — a job, an apology, a person's approval. I wrote it in one sitting after a phone call I wish I'd never taken.
Q4
What's your creative process?
Lyrics first, always. I write pages of prose and circle the lines that sing back at me. The melody usually arrives while I'm washing dishes, which is inconvenient but apparently non-negotiable.
Q5
What equipment/software do you use?
A forty-year-old nylon-string, a battered SM58, and GarageBand on a laptop held together with tape. Expensive gear is on the list, right after 'pay rent'.
Q6
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Joni Mitchell for the honesty, Phoebe Bridgers for the production restraint, and Damien Dempsey because you can hear Dublin in every syllable.
Q7
What's the biggest challenge you've faced as an independent artist?
Doing everything yourself — writing, recording, promoting, admin — and still protecting the part of the day where you actually make music. The admin never ends. The songs have to be defended.
Q8
What advice would you give to other independent artists?
Write the true thing, even when the clever thing is easier. Listeners can tell the difference in the first four bars, I promise you.
Q9
What's next for you?
An EP recorded properly in a real studio — five songs, all written this year. And a small Irish tour if the van holds together.
Q10
Where can people find you and your music?
“Paper Crown” is on my featured page here at Headliner Record. Everything else — demos, gig dates, the occasional voice memo — flows from there.
Q11
What's your dream collaboration?
A string quartet that isn't afraid of feedback, and a producer who knows when to leave the mistakes in.
Q12
If you could play one venue or festival, what would it be?
Whelan's in Dublin, upstairs. It's tiny, it's sweaty, and every songwriter I love has stood on that stage. That's the one.
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The Headliner Record editorial team — championing independent artists since 1999.
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