Today we’d like to introduce you to Inana & The Band Sonnet Whitaker & Evan Jacob.
Hi Inana & The Band, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Inana & the Band began as a creative vision expressed through music and experience. Music has always been one of the places where the band feels the most freedom — it’s way to tell stories, process life, and connect with people without having to explain everything. Inana is building something that feels emotionally honest, melodic, and a little outside the traditional boundaries of rock.
Our first album, N.F.S., came out in 2022. That record was really the beginning of Inana & the Band finding its voice. It came out of a lot of life experience, resilience, and a desire to turn some difficult and beautiful moments into something that could live beyond the music. The album is a big body of work — 21 songs — and it gave us the foundation to start building the band and the world around it.
Since then, a lot has been happening behind the scenes. One of the most exciting developments is that we’re working on a new independent album with producer Alex Price. We recorded in Los Angeles at Birdland Studios, and the process has pushed the music into a new place. We’re taking everything we’ve learned from the first record and becoming much more intentional about the sound, the arrangements, and the storytelling. It’s still very much Inana, but it feels like we’re opening another door.
We’ve also had an incredible addition to the band: Evan Jacobs. Evan is one of those musicians who seems to have a little bit of magic in everything he touches. He’s a singer, songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, and recording artist with a remarkable history in the Texas and indie music scenes. He was a founding member of Midlake, went on to front Tacks, the Boy Disaster, and also played with The Polyphonic Spree. His work has crossed into a wide range of recording projects and collaborations, and he’s been recognized for his ability to move comfortably between different musical worlds.
What makes Evan such an exciting part of Inana & the Band isn’t just his résumé. It’s his musical instinct. He brings decades of experience, but he also brings curiosity and playfulness. He’s a songwriter’s musician — someone who listens deeply and knows when a song needs one more beautiful thing and when it needs less. Having him in the room has changed the possibilities for where this music can go.
We’re also continuing to build the visual side of Inana & the Band. “Lovers in the Diner” is a really important piece of that. The song was originally developed through work connected to the play MERCURY, with Sonnet Whitaker & Alex Price and shaping the music, and eventually becoming a single released in 2025.
Now we’re taking “Lovers in the Diner” into the visual world with a music video shot right here in Austin, Texas. Texas, New York & LA have always been an important part of our identity, so it felt right to capture the song here and let Austin become part of the story.
So, if we had to describe where we are today, I’d say we’re in a new beginning. The first chapter was about discovering Inana & the Band and finding the courage to put the music out into the world. This chapter is about collaboration, independence, and building something much bigger — a new album, new members, new visuals, and a deeper sense of who we are.
We’re still growing, still experimenting, and still figuring it out as we go. Inana & the Band has never been about standing still. It’s about following the music and seeing where it takes us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but we think some of the struggle has actually been necessary. One of the hardest things about being an independent artists is learning how to stay true to yourself when there are so many voices telling you what you should sound like, look like, or be.
There is a very real temptation to become a cookie-cutter musician because that’s often what the industry knows how to package. For us, the whole reason Inana & the Band started was to have a place to be free to create. Not to make music because it fits neatly into a box.
That freedom can sometimes get lost in the mix of the larger music industry. There are algorithms, trends, expectations, and a lot of pressure to constantly produce and promote. And at the same time, we absolutely need our fans. We can’t make music in a vacuum. The people who listen, come to shows, share a song, buy merch, or simply tell someone else about us are what allow an independent band to keep going.
That’s where we’ve had to learn patience.
We’re not interested in manufacturing an audience overnight. We want to build an organic fan base — people who genuinely connect with what we’re doing and feel like they’re part of the journey. And that takes time. It takes love. It takes showing up consistently, making something real, and allowing people to discover you.
Sometimes that’s frustrating. You can put your heart into a song and wonder why it isn’t reaching thousands of people immediately. You watch other artists take off and you wonder if you’re doing something wrong. But then someone tells you that one of your songs got them through something, or they come to a show and know every word, or a person you’ve never met tells you that the music meant something to them. Those moments remind you why you’re doing it.
Success doesn’t necessarily mean becoming bigger as quickly as possible. Sometimes success is having the courage to protect your creative voice.
That’s a big part of where we are now with the new album. Working independently with Alex Price, recording in Los Angeles, and bringing Evan Jacobs into the band has given us the space to explore instead of rushing to fit into somebody else’s idea of what Inana & the Band should be. We’re taking the time to make the record we actually want to make.
That’s the real challenge: staying open without losing yourself.
We want to grow. We want more people to hear the music. We want to tour, play bigger rooms, and build a lasting audience. But we don’t want to get there by becoming a version of ourselves that isn’t real.
If this takes longer, then it takes longer. We’d rather build something with roots than something that disappears as quickly as it arrived.
Being an artist is about staying free enough to surprise yourself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Inana & The Band is built around one thing: music with a pulse, a story, and an edge.
Led by frontwoman and songwriter Sonnet Whitaker, the band lives somewhere between indie rock, alt-rock, and melodic rock. The goal isn’t to sound like everyone else or chase whatever happens to be trending. It’s about staying true to the music and giving the songs room to breathe, get weird, get loud, and be honest.
What sets Inana & The Band apart is the freedom to create outside the cookie-cutter music machine. The band is building something organically — one song, one show, one fan at a time. That takes longer, but the connection is real.
There’s also a natural connection between music and film. Sonnet’s father, Forest Whitaker, produced and directed Hope Floats, which was filmed in Smithville, Texas. That film became part of the town’s identity and a piece of the Whitaker family legacy.
That history came full circle with “Lovers in the Diner.” The new music video was shot in Austin and draws on that Texas diner mythology — heartbreak, old love, faded memories, and the characters who pass through these places.
The band even traveled to Smithville to revisit the Hope Floats locations, including the famous house and the diners. There’s something powerful about seeing how a film can leave a permanent mark on a town. Pocket’s Grille has even credited Hope Floats with helping save the diner when it was struggling to survive.
That’s the kind of storytelling Inana & The Band is drawn to — music that doesn’t just exist for three minutes and disappear. Songs with a history. Places with story & enough rock to leave a mark.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
One of the biggest things happening for Inana & The Band right now is the addition of Evan Jacobs.
The chemistry between Sonnet Whitaker and Evan Jacobs is something really special. They come from different musical worlds, but when they get in a room together, something clicks. There’s a lot of instinct, trust, experimentation, and just straight-up musical magic happening.
Evan brings an incredible history as a songwriter and musician, but what matters most is what happens when the two of them start creating. It feels raw. It feels spontaneous. It feels like the songs are finding their own direction instead of being forced into one.
That energy is becoming a huge part of the new Inana & The Band sound.
With Sonnet and Evan writing and creating together, there’s a sense that anything can happen. Beautiful melodies can turn into something dark. A quiet moment can suddenly explode. That’s the kind of tension and freedom we’re chasing.
Add Alex Price producing the new independent album, the LA sessions at Birdland Studios, and the rest of the band bringing their own energy into the room — and there’s a real spark happening right now.
We’re excited because this isn’t just another lineup change. It’s a new creative chapter.
And honestly, some of the best stuff happening right now is the stuff that can’t really be planned.
That’s the magic.
Pricing:
- Booking $$ Contact inana.atb.music@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://inana-theband.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inanaandtheband/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inana-the-band-a49960348/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCjr9s0tuOpdW1omzyjiySg
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-947637317
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/album/lovers-in-the-diner/1797452866?i=1797452868
