Hailey Whitters sings about a chance encounter and living a full life in “Janice at the Hotel Bar,” a standout from the Nashville singer-songwriter’s 2020 album The Dream. The story of their enlightening interaction comes to life in a new video released on Wednesday.
Directed by Erica Silverman in partnership with Whitters’ creative director Harper Smith, the clip was shot in Austin, Texas and features Whitters as both narrator and a character in the video. The titular Janice befriends Whitters while the latter is working behind the bar, offering up some key advice on how to achieve a life well lived. “Stay off the pills, but get on the pill if you ain’t ready to start a family,” she sings.
There’s also some grainy, home video-style footage of what Janice was like as a younger woman, in which fellow songwriter Robert Ellis makes a cameo.
Whitters’ independently released debut The Dream was released February 28th, just before the Nashville tornado and the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes the breakout songs “Ten Year Town” and “The Days.” Prior to the pandemic, Whitters hit the road as support on Jordan Davis’s headlining tour. More recently, Whitters partnered with the label home of Morgan Wallen, Big Loud, enlisting the imprint Songs and Daughters to market The Dream.
