If you’ve ever wanted to bottle the feeling of a perfect summer night, Brooklyn-based band Whitehall might be the closest thing to it. With their infectious blend of indie rock grit, emo-adjacent honesty, and deep-fried Southern charm (they’re originally from South Carolina, okay), the band got on our radar with their catchy song “Come Visit”, a jangly, yearning single that previews their upcoming album. We caught up with guitarist Avery Greeson to talk about the band’s musical evolution, what fans can expect from their new album, and how four college friends from Charleston keep finding new ways to surprise us and themselves.
JG: “Come Visit” plays like an open invitation into vulnerability. Can you talk about what you hope people feel or unpack emotionally when they hear it for the first time?
Avery Greeson: One of our biggest hopes is that people feel like they can relate. It’s a lot easier to be vulnerable when you know your feelings are shared. Despite the song having a bit of a downer tone to it, we like to think that there’s a comfort that comes along with hearing your feelings mirrored back to you.
JG: The song kinda seems to speak to the grass-is-greener mindset. As a band, how does Whitehall stay grounded as artists in an industry that constantly compares, scrolls, and competes?
Avery Greeson: We as a band have never been very good at competition in this industry. We also don’t have much social media talent, so we don’t often feel the need to try and keep up in a trendy way. I guess our way of staying grounded is avoiding the mess as much as we can, for better or for worse!
JG: Your sound has shape-shifted across albums, from sunny indie hooks to moodier, grit-laced textures. What’s been driving that sonic evolution, and where do you see it heading next?
Avery Greeson: It took us a long time to figure out what we wanted out of this band, musically. When we started we were mostly playing college parties and we found that the upbeat style of music connected more with folks who were trying to blow off steam after a week of class and tests. We also used to have a sax player, the wonderfully talented Pat Magwood, who elevated the generic indie vibe of those original tunes with tasteful horn melodies. We all come from different musical backgrounds so it took a while to figure out how to effectively balance our music in a way that we felt represented each of us. Still working on that one! Each new batch of songs is a tonal mystery until we get with a producer who can hear the overarching themes from an outside perspective and help steer the ship.
JG: You’ve now lived and played in two very different cultural scenes, Charleston and Brooklyn. How have both cities shaped Whitehall’s identity, lyrically or energetically?
Avery Greeson: I think we were at a time in our lives when we were living in Charleston, where we thought we had to be as energetic as possible all the time due to the audiences we were playing to. Which isn’t actually true, but I think we were also young and had that energy in us, so we might have been a little more afraid to really lean into ballads. Now that we’re in New York, we’re older and, despite the high energy of the city itself, it’s easier to calm down musically. Hence, the pretty chill new record. We write a lot about overarching feelings of how our lives are going, and that’s always been true. We just hope now that we’re better at it.
JG: The new album is on the horizon. Without giving too much away, what’s the emotional core of this next chapter for Whitehall? What can listeners expect?
Avery Greeson: Thematically, the new album is about moving and a lot of the mental challenges that come along with leaving home. New relationships and coping mechanisms. Struggling with whether or not we made the right decision, and missing our friends and family. No spoilers, but the last song leaves us still wondering. It’s too soon to tell!
JG: You’ve toured with some heavy-hitters, Goo Goo Dolls, Arlie, and Carver Commodore. What’s the most surprising or surreal moment you’ve had on the road so far?
Avery Greeson: I think we tend to be surprised most by audiences laughing at our dumb jokes onstage. We try not to take ourselves seriously at all up there, so we do a lot of teasing each other and general nonsense. So it’s really great when audiences play along and get that they’re supposed to be having fun. It’s also inversely fantastic when the silliness falls flat. Being ridiculous and getting an entirely cold response is not unlike telling an awful joke and getting groans and eye rolls. It lights a fire in my belly!
JG: What’s next for Whitehall? More tour dates, any exciting collaborations in the works?
Avery Greeson: What’s next, you ask? Well, I know we haven’t even come close to releasing the entirety of the new album, but we are already working on new music. We want to do some collaboration with friends for the next chapter, but you’ll just have to wait and see! We also plan to be on the road at the end of the summer and some in the fall. You know, band stuff!
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