June Millington “one of the hottest female guitarists in the industry” (Guitar Player Magazine) has been making music since she was a child playing ukulele in her native Philippines. Having moved from Manila to California in the early sixties, she and her sister, bassist Jean, turned in their folk guitars for electric and formed a succession of all-girl bands.  By 1969 they were in Hollywood with the band Fanny, the first all-women rock band to be signed to a major label (Reprise Records). Through five successful albums and extensive touring of Europe and North America, Fanny served notice that women could do more than simply sing: they could write and play passionate rock ‘n roll.  As David Bowie said of the group in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine: “They were one of the finest fucking rock bands of their time… They were extraordinary; they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers… They are as important as anyone else who’s ever been, ever…” (Rolling Stone magazine, January 2000)

June left Fanny in 1973, settling in Woodstock, New York to focus on her songwriting and spiritual development.  By 1975 she was involved in the burgeoning Women’s Music Movement, playing on what would become the definitive work of the genre, Cris Williamson’s “The Changer and the Changed.”  Millington toured with and produced albums for Williamson and for Holly Near and Mary Watkins.  In 1977 she and Jean reunited to record “Ladies on the Stage” for United Artists.

Through most of the 1980’s, June toured as a solo artist, promoting the albums released on the independent Fabulous Records label: “Heartsong,” “Running and One World,” “One Heart.”  In 1987 she and her partner Ann Hackler co-founded the nonprofit Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), which has grown into an internationally known teaching, performing and recording facility supporting women in music and music-related business.  As Artistic Director at IMA, located in Goshen, Massachusetts, Millington produces albums and teaches a variety of classes that draw on the vast store of information and skill she has gathered as a musician, producer and songwriter in both mainstream and women’s music.   In the summers, IMA runs rock n’ roll performance and recording programs for girls and young women.

Millington’s 1993 release, “Ticket to Wonderful,” synthesizes a thirty-year exploration of musical styles and sounds – which began with folk and rock and journeyed through funk, reggae, salsa, pop and world beat – into a work that at once moves your spirit to higher ground and your feet to the dance floor. She combines her Philippine island roots, elevated lyrics and folk-rock sensibility to create a unique blend of music that is beyond categorization. The 1999 release of “Melting Pot,” recorded with Jean and their band The Slammin’ Babes, takes that same mix of musical styles and cranks up the heat to generate a volcanic, earth-moving, shake-yer booty  set of tracks with lyrics that grab handfuls of soul coupled with a powerful message that remains with the listener long after the last note has ended.

“Play Like a Girl,” June and Jean’s most recent album, was released in August 2011, is the culmination of everything they have done in rock ‘n roll.  “When we started out in 1965, says June, “we ‘played like a girl’.  With this album, we’re reclaiming that phrase and making it a statement of power and vision.  It’s a gift to still be rockin’ out, while teaching the next generation how to find their own voices through music.”

In 1996, the Audio Engineering Society honored Millington with its Lifetime Achievement award. In 2000 the Bay Area Career Women gave her their LAVA award for being a “legend of women’s music.”  In 2005 she received the Outmusic Heritage Award and in 2007 she, along with the other members of FANNY, received the Rockrgrl Women of Valor Award from Berklee College of Music and Rockrgrl magazine.

With her incredibly expressive vocals, dazzling guitar work and wonderfully crafted songs, June casts a spell over her audience:   “(Millington’s) choice of notes to sing or play is letter-perfect.  She doesn’t need to prove she has great chops: she makes music instead.”  (Jim Santella, Buffalo NY News).   Don’t miss your chance to see “the mother of all-girl bands” (Calvin Ahlgren, San Francisco Chronicle).  Be prepared to shake it up with hot high moments of rock, funk and reggae and be stirred to the soul by beautiful ballads and love songs.