The band Midland was formed in Dripping Springs, Texas. The trio met separately around Los Angeles, where Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy were in a number of bands through a number of years.[2] After Carson left L.A., Duddy and Mark Wystrach met and formed a country-rock band called The Young Whiskey.[3] The trio met up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Duddy's wedding in August 2013; both Wystrach and Carson acted as groomsmen.[4] As Duddy recalls the story, Carson and Wystrach arrived in Jackson Hole for the wedding a week early. After playing songs together on the front porch of Carson's cabin, they proposed starting a project together. Six months later, in January 2014, Duddy called Carson and Wystrach to suggest that they record some songs,[3] and they went to the Sonic Ranch recording studio in El Paso, TX to record for 10 days. As stated by Wystrach, "when we went to the Sonic Ranch, we became a band. We walked away believing in what had happened."[5][6] Wystrach and Duddy then both moved with their families to Texas where Carson lived.[7] They decided to name the band after a song by musician Dwight Yoakam called "Fair to Midland".[8] The trio has a definitive sound.
Mark Wystrach grew up surrounded by music as his parents were both fans of live music. His parents owned a country music venue. In addition to being a singer, Wystrach is also an actor and model. Wystrach was signed to IMG Models as a model. [9][10][11]
Jess Carson in 2019
Jess Carson grew up on a farm in Oregon where the main genre was country music. His sister and father were musicians, so he started playing guitar.[12][11]
Cameron Duddy in 2019
Cameron Duddy started playing music after a difficult situation in his family; he found that music helped to lessen the tension, saying, "Sometimes you don't get to talk about all the things that you maybe want to talk about and the ice breaker started to be music." He got his first guitar from his father; it helped him to find his identity.[11]
Midland's first song, "Fourteen Gears", was around 2015. The song, according to Duddy, was "another one of the early moments that defined and solidified the band."[14][15]
Midland was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2018: Grammy Award for Best Country Song and Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, both for "Drinkin’ Problem".[20] Midland won at the 2018 ACM Awards for best New Vocal Group of the year. Midland released the single "Mr. Lonely" in February 2019 as the leadoff single to their second album.[21] Midland released "Cheatin' Songs" in August of 2019 as the second single to the album. The album, Let It Roll, was released on August 23, 2019.[22] The band began a tour in June in support of the album.[23] In February of 2020 Midland launched three expressions of their own brand of tequila, called "insõlito".[24]
In March 2021, Midland released an album titled The Sonic Ranch, which served as the soundtrack for the documentary film on their origin story, focusing on their first recording session at The Sonic Ranch in 2014.[25][26] On July 16, 2021, Midland released their latest EP, The Last Resort, which hit Number 47 on the Billboard Album Sales Chart.[27] The band followed the EP with their third studio album titled The Last Resort: Greetings From, released on May 6, 2022.[28] They released "Sunrise Tells the Story" as the first single, and the second single was released in late 2022 titled "Longneck Way to Go".
Band members
Mark Wystrach - lead vocals, guitar
Jess Carson - rhythm guitar, vocals
Cameron Duddy - bass guitar, vocals
Touring musicians
Luke Cutchen - lead guitar
Phillip Sterk - steel guitar
Jeff Adamczyk - organ, piano
Robbie Crowell - drums
Style and influences
Rolling Stone said that "the Texas-based band blend their voices to produce country music that recalls a mix of George Strait, Urban Cowboy and Seventies yacht rock."[29]Billboard describes the band's sound as "a definite George Strait '80s New Traditionalist feel to it, combined with the rich California harmonies that made The Eagles legendary."[30] Midland also is known for their unique dressing style, very similar to the original "Nudie suits" designed by Nudie Cohn.[31] Vogue called Midland both heartthrobs and fashion risk takers."[32]
