Midland began over a decade ago in 2014 when Mark Wystrach (lead vocals, guitar), Jess Carson (guitar, vocals) and Cameron Duddy (bass, vocals) got together in Dripping Springs, Texas, and started exploring the elements of country music of the 1970s and ’80s that they loved: three-part harmonies, pedal steel, and twangy guitars.
They took their name from Dwight Yoakam’s “Fair to Midland,” and quickly established themselves with their 2017 debut album, On the Rocks, whose tunes “Make a Little,” “Burn Out” and “Drinkin’ Problem” made sent the album to #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
Their second album, 2019’s Let It Roll, did even better, peaking at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums list.
The trio's most recent release, Stages, dropped this summer on Blue Highway Records. The 10-track LP blends old school Nashville, Texas honky-tonk, and Bakersfield country rock flavors as well as collabs like “Up in Texas,” featuring Clint Black, and “I Wish You Would,” with MacKenzie Carpenter.
Recently they stopped by the Setlist Studios to chat it up with Bree Wilde about some concerts that made an impression on them as fans. Click the video above for the full interview or keep scrolling for a few highlights.
The Refreshments, Mesa Amphitheater, Mesa, Arizona, 9/22/96
Mark Wystrach: Yeah. I grew up on a cattle ranch south of Tucson, Arizona, a real small ranching community down in Santa Cruz County. My grandfather moved out there in 1947, it's where my mom grew up. And my grandfather's best friend was Mr. Clyne and they were all drinking buddies and would hang out.
And his son, Doc Clyne, became a dear friend of my mother and her sisters, they were neighboring ranchers.
Doc's son, Roger... grew up in Phoenix. And as I got older, Roger was doing music up in the Phoenix area, and out of nowhere they released this album called Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy and it kind of erupted, in that they had their own unique sound, it was Western, it was Southwestern, it was paying homage to a lot of Mexico and just kind of the full cornucopia that is Arizona.
Doc picked us up in his old Suburban and it's about a three-hour drive from the ranch to get to the Mesa Amphitheatre, it's not close. And Doc had a cooler in the back filled with Coors Light and my brother and I got to drink some Coors on the way up. And by the time we got there, we had a little buzz going.
And it was the first time I'd ever had access like that to be backstage and get to meet all the band and to be around that energy. And it was a hometown show, so they had a ton of their friends and it was a big party backstage.
But I'll just never forget how tight they were and how great the set was and how they really... Roger's an amazing... he's almost like a crooner, he's an incredible front man, he's a wonderful storyteller, great songwriter, incredible performer, the whole band was.
And just sitting side stage and looking out over the Amphitheater and seeing him just have the entire crowd in the palm of his hands and the way that he moved and worked the crowd, it just kind of planted a seed at 16.
Bruce Springsteen, Dallas, American Airlines Stadium, 4/5/16
Bree Wilde: Bruce Springsteen is one of the most popular artists on Setlist, by the way. We could write about him changing up 1/4 of one song and people would be stoked.
Jess Carson: Yeah. I don't think I can overstate his influence on us-- I'm talking about our approach to playing live, even though he is one of those rare animals that can do everything: he can write, he can play, he can sing. He's arguably in the top, maybe five greatest performers of all time.
He's funny. How do you mix humor with a moment in a set that could make you cry? Like I've cried at a Bruce Springsteen concert. And you laugh, he's the funniest person that I've seen play.
The three of us got to go see him in Dallas. We've watched so many clips of him playing.
There's this old one from this concert called No Nukes and just the sheer energy.
There's one clip on the Internet that we would watch a lot before going on stage and it's the encore of it and it's just bonkers. I've just never seen anything like it.
And I'm sure he was influenced by people that we don't know, but we listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen, we've put Springsteen songs in the set.
We used to close with "Dancing in the Dark," for a while, "Atlantic City." We've done so many. We've covered "Tougher Than the Rest," we did that in the studio.
And as far as a blueprint or a North Star for what you're trying to achieve on stage, he's a big part of it. The energy, the attention to trying to entertain.
To me, he's like the opposite of self-indulgent, he wants to entertain the crowd, even when we saw him.
MC Hammer, Tucson Convention Center, 10/10/89
Mark Wystrach: The first real concert I went to was MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice in Tucson.
I think I was 10 years old or something like that. Vanilla Ice had canceled and didn't come, and I was really bummed because I wanted to see Vanilla Ice more than MC Hammer. So if I ever meet Vanilla Ice, I'll have to tell them that.
But MC Hammer, shout out to you, talk about an incredible performance. I mean, that's like a Vegas show. That was the first actual production I'd ever gone to.
Jess Carson: And Mark, to this day, as a warmup, he does the Hammer Dance, that walk, the sideways thing.
Bree Wilde: That's what you took away from that one?
Mark Wystrach: Yeah. I mean, if you can do that, your pelvis is open.
That just scratches the surface. Listen to the full conversation by clicking the video at the start of all of this.
Catch Midland on the road as they headline certain dates and also open for Kacey Musgraves. Get your tix on their website.
Midland Stages Tour 2026
08/20-21 United Center, Chicago, IL
08/24 Toronto, ON, Canada
08/28 TD Garden, Boston, MA
08/29 Boots and Hearts West, Edmonton, AB, Canada
09/04 Clear Lake, IA
09/09 Columbus, OH
09/11 Milwaukee, WI
09/12 St. Louis, MO
09/25 Mesa, AZ
09/26 Ruidoso, NM
09/27 Taos/El Prado, NM
10/08 Charlotte, NC
10/09 Indianapolis, IN
10/10 Camdenton, MO
10/15 Louisville, KY
10/16 Auburn, AL
10/17 Tampa Pig Jig, Tampa, FL
10/22 Lynchburg, VA
10/23 Durham, NC
10/24 Glen Allen, VA
11/13 Hidalgo, TX
11/14 Waco, TX
