Our names are Dani Rocca and Joel Michael Herbert. We've been singing together since we first met in a cult in 2007 (it’s a fun story), where our friendship blossomed into romance and then the duo that has become The World In Lights.

Dani Rocca has performed all over the world both solo and as a member of the pop vocal group Avalon, and is trained vocalist, songwriter, producer, and human development specialist, earning a Psychology degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Human Development from Vanderbilt. She coaches, teaches, and is available for hire as an organizational consultant.

Joel Michael Herbert is an accomplished writer, speaker, and award-winning singer-songwriter, writing and speaking at the intersection of art, spirituality, and peacemaking. He is currently working on an initiative to reimagine spiritual community in the aftermath of organized religion. A progressive liberationist theologian with an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, he is available as a consultant, artist, and speaker.

Based in Central New York, The World In Lights started in an apartment in Houston as a group of best friends making music together. We love telling stories with our music- stories of love and war and heartbreak and redemption... what it means to be human. We love haunting melodies, eclectic instruments, and great storytelling, and we've fallen in love with this form of art we call songwriting. 

Our musical influences range from John Legend to The Civil Wars to Joni Mitchell to Willie Nelson. We hope you will find us modern yet still classic in all the best ways, feeling like you never left the back porch of your Kentucky cabin on a still autumn afternoon. Join us as we tell a story worth telling, and you might just be tempted to sing along.