Dan Whitaker

Location: At the Park in the Square

Singer-songwriter Dan Whitaker’s music defies easy assumptions, moving from dark ballads to intricate country jazz instrumentals to character-driven stories set on the road and in honky-tonks. Since the mid-‘80s he has created independent original music in Chicago and the Midwest in bands such as Dan Whitaker and The Shinebenders, The Gyps, Great Plains Gypsies, and June Bug Massacre. On U.S. tours and at home Whitaker has shared the stage with artists like James Hand, Shooter Jennings, Corb Lund, The Bottle Rockets, and more.

With his latest album, One More Story Told, Whitaker introduces the deep scope of his songwriting range and evolution to newer listeners for the first time. One More Story Told is an acoustic anthology of updated songs spanning 1985 to 2015, produced by Todd Rittmann (U.S. Maple, Dead Rider) and released via Empty Highway. Sparked by a revisitation of his older material as a way to reconnect with his audience online during the pandemic, One More Story Told sees Whitaker swapping his trademark Telecaster for an acoustic guitar. The result is a warm, engaging, ‘70s colored journey into a past made new again.

“Spinning tales of love, loathing and non-conforming, Whitaker crafts tunes with the world-weary word play in the vein of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Nick Cave.” –C-U Cityview

“Capturing the chilling beauty of Whitaker’s voice, Movin’ On proves his long-standing contributions to the Chicago music scene.” –Chicago Crowd Surfer

“Dan Whitaker is a name you may not have heard of, but needs to be on your music radar.” –Cloudwatcher Uno

FREE TO THE PUBLIC