Whitney Announce Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings, Share Previously Unreleased Song

Whitney’s Light Upon The Lake was one of our favorite albums of 2016, and the rising country-soul stars have now announced that they’ll release the full collection of demos from that album’s recording. Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings is due out Nov. 10 via Secretly Canadian, and to celebrate, Whitney have put out a previously unreleased demo called “You and Me,” which they wrote in 2014-2015 during early sessions for Light Upon The Lake.

A press release sheds some light on the context in which the acclaimed album was created:

“Light Upon The Lake, the debut from Whitney, was born from early-morning songwriting sessions during one of the most brutal winters in Chicago’s history. Vocalist/drummer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek began writing unflinching, honest songs about everything from break-ups to the passing of Ehrlich’s grandfather. The pair leaned on one another for both honest critique and a sounding board for working through their newly-discovered truths.”

Ehrlich and Kakacek explained their decision to release the demos in a statement:

“After almost two years of non-stop touring we decided we wanted to close the chapter on Light Upon The Lake by releasing the songs in their earliest incarnations alongside a cover of a band favorite by Alan Toussaint, and an unreleased track called ‘You and Me.’ We’re looking towards LP2 as we finish out the year on the road.” – Love, Max and Julien

“You and Me” is vintage Whitney, a vibrant, yet tender love song propelled along by Ehrlich’s flutter of a falsetto and Kakacek’s gleaming guitar work. Color us eager to hear what Whitney have in store for LP2.

Listen to “You and Me” below, and see the Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings tracklist and album art below, plus Whitney’s tour dates. You can preorder the album here.

Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings Tracklist:
01. No Woman (Demo)
02. The Falls (Demo)
03. Golden Days (Demo)
04. Dave’s Song (Demo)
05. You and Me (Demo)
06. No Matter Where We Go (Demo)
07. On My Own (Demo)
08. Polly (Demo)
09. Follow (Demo)
10. Southern Nights

Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings Album Art:

Whitney Tour Dates:

September
29 – Nashville, Tenn. @ The Basement East
30 – Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theater

October
01 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Park Tavern (Sunset Series)
03 – Birmingham, Ala. @ Saturn
05 – Austin, Texas @ Antone’s (SOLD OUT)
06 – Dallas, Texas @ Cambridge Room
07 – Houston, Texas @ Bronze Peacock
08 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Festival
15 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Festival
28 – New Orleans, La. @ Voodoo Fest

November
02 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro (SOLD OUT)
11 – Santiago, Chile @ Fauna Primavera Festival
12 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Personal Fest
14 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Clash Club
16 – Miraflores, Peru @ Bazar
19 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Corona Capital
28 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Turner Hall
29 – Madison, Wis. @ Majestic Theatre
30 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue

December
01 – Omaha, Neb. @ The Waiting Room
03 – Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird Theater
04 – Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird Theater
07 – Oakland, Calif. @ Fox Theater
09 – Napa, Calif. @ Uptown Theatre Napa
10 – San Jose, Calif. @ City National Civic Theater
13 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Palladium