Whitney | Amanda Bergman
Band on the Wall, Manchester
22nd February 2026
The Chicago duo return to Manchester with a six-piece lineup and a handsome suite of delicate indie rock songs.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Julien Ehrlich makes a funny kind of frontman for Whitney; as both their lead vocalist and their drummer, he sits centre stage and resplendent on his riser in front of a sold-out crowd, at the most intimate show his band have played here since they released their debut album, Light Upon the Lake, in 2016. Ehrlich is looking much more hirsute than he did back then; his other half in Whitney, Max Kakacek, appears unchanged by the passage of a decade. Just like ten years ago, though, the Chicago natives find themselves relieved to be putting clear blue water between themselves and their homeland; “we don’t agree with any of the shot that’s going on back over there,” says Ehrlich early on tonight. Whitney’s last show of this size in Manchester, at Gorilla in November 2016, happened hours before Trump was first elected president.
Whitney’s music plays like the soundtrack to an entirely different America altogether, one that finds beauty in the rustic and one capable of quiet reflection upon matters of the heart. The duo have faced choppy waters of their own before now; their third album, Spark, was the sound of a band who had lost their way slightly.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Julien Ehrlich makes a funny kind of frontman for Whitney; as both their lead vocalist and their drummer, he sits centre stage and resplendent on his riser in front of a sold-out crowd, at the most intimate show his band have played here since they released their debut album, Light Upon the Lake, in 2016. Ehrlich is looking much more hirsute than he did back then; his other half in Whitney, Max Kakacek, appears unchanged by the passage of a decade. Just like ten years ago, though, the Chicago natives find themselves relieved to be putting clear blue water between themselves and their homeland; “we don’t agree with any of the shot that’s going on back over there,” says Ehrlich early on tonight. Whitney’s last show of this size in Manchester, at Gorilla in November 2016, happened hours before Trump was first elected president.
Whitney’s music plays like the soundtrack to an entirely different America altogether, one that finds beauty in the rustic and one capable of quiet reflection upon matters of the heart. The duo have faced choppy waters of their own before now; their third album, Spark, was the sound of a band who had lost their way slightly.
To correct course, they’ve returned to smaller rooms in support of their triumphant return to form, Small Talk, which landed late last year. The record is vintage, barrel-aged Whitney and plays as such tonight; with an expanded six-piece lineup offering swells of their signature brass, they work through tender, affecting cuts like Damage, which ponders roads not taken, and In the Saddle, which wrestles with the never-ending search for meaning.
In that respect, their set echoes that of superb opener Amanda Bergman, whose acoustic set was replete with the raw laments of the passage of time that define her terrific sophomore album, embraced for a second as we die.
Whitney’s music is not quite as grief-stricken, though; more the soundtrack for mellower ruminative nights of the soul. Tracks from albums one and two come to life with such rich warmth here, and whilst the pace is occasionally sedate (Used to be Lonely), the register is much more often one of gentle, uptempo breeziness (Giving Up and Golden Days both being cases in point).
They have a genuine anthem, too, in No Woman, and it’s no surprise when it inspires a full-throated singalong during the encore; music this subtle and sincere inspires devotion. What Whitney delivered here was a midwestern hymnal – a potent reminder of the quiet power of gentle melody.
~
Whitney can be found at their Facebook | Instagram | website
Words by Joe Goggins: find him on X here
Photos by Kristy Eighteen – Instagram
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