Photos by Rachel Zyzda, featuring Shame, Sunflower Bean, White Reaper, Liza Anne, Blue Dream, HINDS, Acid Dad, Soccer Mommy, Post Animal, Anna Burch, High Waisted, Girl Ray, Caroline Rose, Ron Gallo, The Nude Party, OHMME, Rookie, The Evening Attraction, and Lucille Furs
Photos by Erica Tello, featuring Hembree, Jade Bird, and Mt Joy
Photos by Justin Kibbel of Superchunk, Wye Oak, Bully, Shamir, Lucy Dacus
Chicago sweethearts Whitney took over Thalia Hall last week for not one, but three incredibly special shows in honor of Valentine’s Day. The three night stint featured a mix of different support acts, with music from all different pockets of genres and styles. Night one featured local buzzy hip hop artist Kweku Collins warming up the stage, while night two had duo Ohmme and the band Deeper, both also from Chicago. Closing out the run of three shows, Thursday night featured Baby Blue and Kevin Krauter taking the stage before Whitney.
Whitney’s setlist all three nights featured some special gems and rarities all around, and each night had its own special touch. For the first two nights, the band decided to split up their show into two parts. The first part featured some Whitney staples like “Polly” and “Dave’s Song” from their album Light Upon The Lake, as well as some covers like “Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can)” by Dolly Parton and “On the Way Home” by Neil Young. When the band left the stage and came back for part two, they were joined by a string section. The strings layering with Whitney’s usual horn section rounded out the sound, adding even more warmth to Whitney’s already rich live show.
Part two of the set featured the gentle “Light Upon the Lake” and a new, unnamed song in addition to a few covers. The beautiful set came to a peak each night, with an epic ending thanks to special guest and friend of the band, Aaron (known as finally_aaron on Instagram). Aaron took the stage following the crowd favorite “No Woman” each night, giving the band a hand with their rendition of the classic “My Girl,” which was perfectly apt for the occasion. The Pilsen concert hall gave a standing ovation each night to Aaron and the band, who complimented each other perfectly. The energy only amplified when Aaron stayed to contribute his powerful and soulful vocals to Whitney’s final song, “Golden Days.”
Whitney has been one of Chicago’s most beloved bands for a while now, but these three magical nights just further solidified how much this city loves Whitney. If you missed out on all of sold out shows, relive some of the magic by checking out photos from the Valentine’s day extravaganza below!
