Columbus, Ohio · Est. 1999
The WhilesTwo releases · 2026
New songs and a return to the beginning—two companion releases from The Whiles.
Hummingbird on vinyl
Single · 2:33
2026 re-recording · 4:24
Next show · Columbus
The Whiles return to Rumba Cafe with Shirt Brothers opening.
Rumba Cafe calendar
Members, friends & side roads
July 25 · Chris Bolognese's new project
Rambling House Music Bar · Columbus. Doors at 5 p.m.; music at 6 p.m. $8 advance or $10 at the door.
Chris Bolognese · Rob Bradley · Jeremy Hunt · Nicholas Nocera
Joe Peppercorn solo
A one-hour solo set at The Ohio Taproom, 1291 W. Third Ave., Columbus.
Albums · 2007–2022
Sleepers Wake, Somber Honey, and Mercury Ghost.
The Whiles on Apple Music Read the album lyrics Open the photo archiveThe Whiles song of the month
This month: from Mercury Ghost
“Louise” first took shape during an inspired stretch of writing in the summer of 2011. The chorus came first, and I loved how inevitable it sounded. I had always loved my friend Jerry DeCicca's song “Rocks in My Shoes” with the Black Swans; that song—and the image of bells on the soles of your shoes—helped point me toward “Louise.”
We recorded it in 2012. While we were mixing it in 2015, my friend Quinn arranged a Nashville session with pedal-steel great Al Perkins as a birthday gift. Al loved the song and told us we were a great band. I'll take that any day.
Chris Bolognese's weaving bass lines lift the relatively simple harmonic structure and give the song real musical weight. Paul Headley's drums are unmistakably his: deep in the pocket, with tasteful ghost notes and fills. Matt and Jake's guitars bring steady warmth, and Phil Cogley makes a guest appearance on backing vocals.
I'm proud of this song. For me, “Louise” is the emotional centerpiece of Mercury Ghost.
Natalie’s · June 19, 2026
“Hummingbird,” filmed by CarneyVision on the night the two 2026 releases arrived.
See all live videoThe story continues
The Whiles are a Columbus indie rock band whose songs have traveled across four decades—melodic, searching, and built to reveal themselves slowly.
Hummingbird and the newly recorded Colors of the Year arrived together: one record facing the future, the other returning to where the band began. Both are about making peace with the past without living there.
Read the full storyA night that kept us moving
Guided by Voices have always been a huge influence on The Whiles. In 2010, at Kyle Sowash's GBV Appreciation Night at the Treehouse in Columbus—with Bob Pollard sitting in the room—we played “Back to the Lake,” “Hot Freaks,” and “Dragons Awake.”
We were at one of those uncertain points when it seemed possible the band might stop. That night was a jolt: a reminder of why we made music together, and of the freedom, nerve, and economy we loved in GBV. It didn't make a grand announcement. It simply pushed us forward.
Robert Loss's PopMatters piece caught the room in full, describing the atmosphere after our set as “drunk reverential” and remembering Joe's wide-eyed turn through “Hot Freaks.”
Read the PopMatters articleFrom that night
The Whiles cover Guided by Voices at the 2010 Appreciation Night—the show that helped push the band forward.
Watch on YouTubeFrom the Columbus archives
October 2012
As Somber Honey finally neared release, Chris DeVille checked in with a band that had survived the kind of obstacles that often end bands for good.
The Columbus Alive story looks back at the years of playing three shows a week and sharing bills with Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, and The National—then follows The Whiles through lineup changes, marriages, children, jobs, moves, and health problems. Four years after recording the album's basic tracks, the band's chemistry was still intact.
Read “Local music: The Whiles”“I realized, man, I really gotta do whatever I can to play in this band as much as I can.”
Joe Peppercorn · Columbus Alive, 2012
Colors of the Year · 2004
“Delicately honest, these songs could break in half if not handled with care.”
Duffy had watched the band move from packed Wednesday shows as Mrs. Children at Andyman's Treehouse toward something more spiritual and direct. He praised the record's timeless quality, the force of its songwriting, and singled out “Will You” as his favorite.
Read the Donewaiting review“…the Whiles pretty much have the combination nailed.”
Stewart Mason heard a meeting point between Nick Drake, Odessey & Oracle, and Gram Parsons. He also praised Jon Chinn's spacious production and the weight Joe's voice brought to the album's fragile songs.
Read the AllMusic review2005 documentary
“Song for Jerry” · The Whiles
On the soundtrack
Murderball is the Oscar-nominated documentary about elite wheelchair rugby—the bruising, full-contact sport originally nicknamed “murderball.” It follows the fierce rivalry between the United States and Canadian teams on the road to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, while giving the players room to be funny, complicated, competitive people far beyond the court.
“Song for Jerry,” from Colors of the Year, was featured in the film and included on its official soundtrack. Its place inside that story has made it feel like a kind of unofficial theme for Murderball: a small, intimate Whiles song threaded through a loud, fearless film.
The theatrical trailer
ThinkFilm · MTV Films · 2005
Open the original uploadLive video
The complete Rumba Cafe set, CarneyVision recordings, early television sessions, festival footage, and covers—embedded here so you can keep watching without leaving the site.
Records, streams & physical copies
Somber Honey & Mercury Ghost on vinyl · Sleepers Wake on CD
Ask about a physical copy
