Whispering Lake plays queer goth pagan folk songs that are Americana with a jangly pop sensibility, catchy hooks inspired by love of Midwest twang and power pop.
Influences include twang like The Replacements, Magnolia Summer, and Better Than Ezra; the power pop of Guided by Voices, The Incurables, Alex Lahey, and Something Corporate; and Neko Case and Brandi Carlile’s dark balladry. These songs meld ancient traditions with new ways, the name coming from a place of hazy summer days in St. Louis, Missouri. We land in a sonic universe that’s drawn comparisons to Tracy Chapman, Indigo Girls, The Cranberries, Jesse Welles, Less Than Jake, Superchunk, and R.E.M.
The music is also inspired by intuitive spiritual and artistic practices: divination via everyday omens, tarot, stichomancy, scrying, and dreams.
The subject matter runs deep: the toxic legacy of Midwestern nuclear waste; the PTSD and ennui of pandemic times; and movements for peace and the environment. The lyrics evoke cosmic sci-fi scenarios and the otherworldly, with a sustaining outlook of tragic optimism. Heartfelt songs about love, relationships, and cats ride alongside nostalgia for places you can never return; rousing calls to action; paeans to higher powers; wryly ironic social commentary; and occasional tales of war, murder, or revenge.
Porch Stomp 2025 photography courtesy of The Repressions
Whispering Lake’s collabs have included Chef Lemons, Leah Dawn, and members of Impossible Bookings, Zuma and the Sin Finders, and The Morning-After Maybes, plus song circles and workshops in the Dar Williams extended universe.
The band’s travels include performances at festivals and NYC arts and music venues such as Porch Stomp, Artmageddon, the Flatbush Frolic, the Clio Art Fair, Mokafé, Brooklyn Art Cave, and The Living Gallery. The band has played across the U.S. and at points beyond, in Texas, New Hampshire, Connecticut, California, Louisiana, Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Nevada, the Dominican Republic, and Italy.
Want to book the band? Get in touch!
House concert photography courtesy of Alex Hays
Clio Art Fair 22 still from videography by Alessandro Berni
Porch Stomp 2026 photography by Edonis Bacaj, courtesy of Roomful of Sky
Tuscany photography by Diogo Branco, courtesy of Dreamcatcher Events