Photo courtesy: Morgan Winston via EMMIE Mag

Author: Jake Walczyk
The indie-rock band out of Chicago known as Whitney will take the stage at Turner Hall in Milwaukee Tuesday night to kick off yet another American tour for their debut album, Light Upon the Lake. The band has consistently been on the road since the album was released in June of last year, and they have nearly perfected the craft of performance.

Band members Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek formed Whitney in 2015 in the wake of the breakup of their previous band, Smith Westerns. It began with a few modest morning jam sessions in the apartment the two shared and since has exploded in popularity, now reaching over one million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Earlier this month, Whitney released a demo album showcasing the demo recordings for Light Upon the Lake. Though fans are anxious for the band's next full album release, they were pleased to hear a couple of unreleased tracks in “You and Me” and a cover of Allen Toussaint's “Southern Nights.” The band has not released a great amount of music since its formation, but fortunately what it has so far is timeless.

Audiences can expect to be both soothed and astonished by Whitney's gentle yet powerful sound. While their songs tend to be lyrically melancholy, their hopeful melodies and charming stage presence make it difficult to leave without a smile.

Though there is a limited amount of music available online from the band, they always keep their audience on their toes with new material or covers at shows. The band is known to play covers ranging from Bob Dylan to the Golden Girls theme song. With their dynamic talent, no song is off the table. Their instrumental tune “Red Moon” is never the same from one show to the next, with plenty of room for improvisation and guest appearances by the likes of Mac DeMarco and Joey Purp.

If you love indie-rock, Whitney is the band to see right now.