Tag: Midland

Midland Continue to Lead Country’s Vintage Revival

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Ever since they injected vintage swagger and rhinestoned style back into the country mainstream with 2017’s “Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland’s Mark Wystrach (lead vocals), Cameron Duddy (bass/vocals), and Jess Carson (guitar/vocals) have been on a journey.

The GRAMMY-nominated trio have welcomed new stages of life alongside new physical stages, rising from roadside honky-tonks into the legendary clubs they still consider home, and on to the biggest venues in the world. Their climb mirrored their evolving country influences, which began with a love for the treble-and-twang sound of the 1960s and progressed on through the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond, helping lay a revivalist foundation for this current new generation of neo-traditionalist artists. Despite all these changes, they never lost sight of their own brotherhood – or their bar-band roots. Their new album Stages is the proof.

Working primarily with producer Trent Willmon for the first time (Jamie Moore also contributed), Stages finds Midland looking back to their road-dogging Texas beginnings, while bringing their throwback renaissance toward the rich tones of the ’90s era. As a former artist with a late-’90s/early-2000s Texas pedigree, Willmon knows that form well, and it fits Midland like a tailored Manuel suit. Over 10 new tracks, timeless barstool themes unfold under gentle, genuine twang and three-part harmony, taking the masters of modern retro to a new peak.

Good Country spoke with Jess Carson about the current stage of Midland’s story and where the classic-country resurgence may go next. We also touched on the band’s ideal venue, covering bluegrass tunes, and the best course of action when encountering a song written by Dean Dillon.

Midland has always struck me as being about more than just throwback nostalgia. There’s a theme and message behind your work, so what’s the title Stages mean to you?

Jess Carson: I think there’s definitely a part of it that is self-referential for us. I think it’s there in the title, it kind of references our own journey all the way back to The Sonic Ranch, which we ended up releasing later, but was the first time we got together– shoot, 12 years ago. It’s been a long road and journey and we’ve been through a lot of stages. And we’re also very much a road band, so there’s that play on words that’s so popular in country music.

Different physical stages too, right?

Yeah. Which is really where we’ve grown up. From playing in dive bars around the Austin, Hill Country area to … I mean, our last show was at [Arlington, Texas, stadium] Globe Life Field.

That’s amazing. There’s a lot of growth there. You guys have gone through a lot together.

We have, yeah. We’ve done a lot of growing up – but are still pretty immature, probably.

“Young at heart” is a better way to put it, maybe.

Well, part of being a musician is that Peter Pan thing. It’s hard to imagine Keith Richards on the phone trying to figure out some bank charge or something.

I’m interested in the physical stages idea, because your band has stayed really committed to and supportive of smaller stages [like the Palomino Club in LA, which Midland reopened for one night in 2019 to record a 2020 live album], even as you’ve leveled up to the biggest venues in the world. I just wonder why you love the small stages so much?

I think as a musician, you’re always going to love that. It’s the most intimate. It’s where you start out – for us and country music. The kind of dive bar honky-tonk thing is always going to be the most intimate and at least for us, it’s where things feel the most at home. These places around here [in Austin], The Broken Spoke and Gruene Hall, Luckenbach, and places like that. That’s where it feels like the music is at home and it’s the easiest place to catch a vibe. If you play at Global Life Field, for example, you can see the people right in front of you. But you can’t see the people way up in the upper deck.

Where did you want to take the sound this time? Over your career you’ve always blended Texas, Nashville, and California country influences very freely.

I don’t know. All of our albums are really a mix of what we’re listening to at the time, what we’re inspired by. For some reason I was reading this Tom Waits interview recently and he said that he’s in the salvage business. More than being a musician, he’s salvaging all these different bits of inspiration. I can identify with that. Going through the stages of our history and our catalog, I think in the beginning we were maybe inspired by stuff that was even older than where we are now. Maybe our stuff sounds more ’90s now than when we started, when there was a lot more, like, ’60s influence.

It’s just whatever place we’re in. I don’t know how thought out it is. I don’t know how thought out anything we have ever done is. [Laughs]

Maybe that’s the secret. How do you feel about where the country mainstream is right now? I would imagine you’re really enjoying this, because you have a lot of like-minded artists out there with you.

Yeah, I think we played a big part in opening the door for what’s going on right now.

Absolutely.

There was a handful of people. Cody Johnson is one that was really doing that sound in 2014 and is massive now, and Jon Pardi. And then I think we inspired a lot of acts. That’s a big part of our legacy. We were in that class of people who kicked the door down and got steel guitar on the radio again, or at least back on the radio during a time when the mainstream was really thriving. So yeah, I’d say more than ever since we’ve been doing it, it’s like classic country is having this moment. Like, that’s being valued now. You know what I mean?

Totally. I wonder though, do you feel like maybe it’s time for a second wave of this renaissance that you guys helped kick off? Now you can have steel guitar on the radio. Songs with a honky-tonk edge are taken seriously commercially. But could we go further? I mean, do we need some Eddy Arnold-style crooning?

Ooh, that’s a good question. I mean, I don’t know. The older stuff feels more difficult.

You’re saying it could go too far.

It’s like, the stuff that’s ’90s influenced right now, it feels very effortless. Who’s going to say they don’t love Alan Jackson or George Strait, Keith Whitley, Clint Black, Shania Twain?

The ’50s stuff, I love all of that. “Make the World Go Away” and all that kind of stuff, I love it. For whatever reason, it’s harder to make that not feel like cosplay. But, that would be super cool if there was somebody who felt like they came out of this time warp and it felt authentic, because that’s some of my favorite songwriting. Willie Nelson’s songwriting from back then. Tin-Pan-Alley-meets-Nashville/American-songbook type songwriting. It’s the coolest in my opinion. But I think maybe it is harder to do that and have it not feel like a shtick in 2026.

Tell me a little bit more about the album here. Was there a moment when Stages started coming into focus for you creatively, and when was that?

Well, we work on albums through the tour cycle. We don’t really take time off to work on the album, so they definitely have their own way that they take form over time. … This one was the way we’ve done the other albums, where we’ll go to Nashville and spend two days here or four days there. I think the first song we did was “Drunk Enough” and that was like – I don’t even know, over a year ago?

“Drunk Enough” almost felt like a follow-up to “Drinkin’ Problem.” Like, it’s a little farther on in the story. You’re still having fun in the “Drinkin’ Problem” time period, but then things progress and it gets a little sadder.

Well, actually I think “Drunk Enough” is, to me, as close as we probably can get to doing that old American-songbook type sound. With the chord changes and the melody, I think there’s a lot of that old inspiration. If there’s something that could be tied to Eddy Arnold, it would probably be that one from the album.

Can you tell me a little about where “Marlboro Man” is coming from? It seems like there’s a cost that comes to living the way you guys do. Have you felt that?

Definitely. We didn’t write that one, but when we heard it, it was like, “Yeah, we can identify with the aging cowboy.” Or just the guy that’s acknowledging the sacrifices and what it takes to get to this place. All three of us can certainly identify with that character.

It was really fun to go down to Southern Arizona and shoot that music video and also tap into the visuals, the images in that song and the cinematic quality of it, too. But yeah, that’s an old Dean Dillon song that he wrote a while ago. I don’t even know, maybe 10 years ago.

Well, his are all timeless immediately.

Yeah. If you can get an old Dean Dillon song, take it.

Another I want to ask you about is “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey.” BGS [the parent outlet of Good Country] is a bluegrass outlet at its core, and I remember that song from the SteelDrivers back when [Chris] Stapleton and Mike Henderson were there. What made you want to record that and turn it into something new?

That was one the label sent over and they just felt like it would be great to get an uptempo [track] on [the album]. I think our albums, you want to hit these different cornerstones and especially to be able to integrate into the live set. We’re always going to want to have a “Mr. Lonely,” or we’ve been playing “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” in the set since we re-did that with Brooks & Dunn [for Reboot].

Certainly from the SteelDrivers and Gary Allan, the song had a life before us getting to it. But I think we’re able to put our own spin on it and we’re already playing that one live. It’s just a fun one in the set.

What about “Up In Texas.” You co-wrote this, and it features Clint Black. You mentioned some of the famous Texas dancehalls earlier in the chat here, and this song is kind of a tribute to all the cool things that make Texas what it is, right? Do you still have a lot of love for Texas?

Oh yeah. I’ve been here for, gosh, close to 20 years, and it’s where I’m going to stay. It’s where the band was formed. Mark’s in Colorado now. Cameron and I are still here in Texas. We’ve always been a Texas band. We never did move to Nashville. We probably would’ve gotten a lot farther if we had. But I very much see ourselves as a Texas honky-tonk band still. And there’s been so many songs written about Texas.

Totally.

It’s like that old saying, “How do you tell if somebody’s from Texas? Just wait 10 seconds and they’ll tell you.” People here are so proud of Texas. But you got to do it. The thing is, you can tell if it’s forced. You can tell if you’re pandering.

When we did “Up In Texas,” Josh Osborne came in with that line, “Out of 10, it’s 11/ I bet even in heaven/ They say ‘Up In Texas.’” That was one of those ones that when he said that, it gave me goosebumps. Lines like that don’t come along that often. I love that payoff so much.

Let me get your take on what you think is next. Not just for your band, but what’s next for your kind of music? For country that still feels rooted in the past, but also has a progressive soul. Life has changed for everybody and now you’ve got AI coming online. Where’s your music headed?

We’re hoping to get some AI robots that can just take over touring for us. [Laughs] We’re trying to build something in the garage right now. No, man, who can even say they know where this is all going to land with AI stuff?

I saw an Instagram post yesterday of this guy, it was a Bronc rider and it was a video of his ride, and somebody commented, “AI ain’t taking this guy’s job.” I think in music we hope that there will always be this kind of soul that you can’t replicate. … I don’t know that I have too much wisdom. We don’t have any interest in using [AI] for songwriting or anything like that. I think that’s pretty obvious. … I think we are purists in that way and the stuff that we love was done very organically, and we’re going to just continue to do what we do.

Photo Credit: Harper Smith

Braxton Keith’s Real Damn Deal is Country Through and Through

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

After years of building up a fan base through high-energy shows and viral social media posts, nobody is more ready for Braxton Keith’s debut album than… Braxton Keith. Raised in Midland, Texas and living in Nashville, Keith is only half-kidding when he says he’s probably listened to the new project five thousand times. Now he’s eager to hear what everybody else has to say.

His fans won’t be surprised that Real Damn Deal sounds like country through and through. Released on Warner Records on May 15, the album picks up the momentum of Keith’s gold-certified 2024 single “Cozy” and the unlikely embrace of his reverent cover of George Strait’s “The Chair.” Although he was skeptical about re-recording it, Keith found that his take on “The Chair” is serving as a gateway for his younger fans into the trenches of classic country.

Keith co-wrote a majority of the songs on the new album, but also included compelling material by Country Music Hall of Fame member Roger Miller, Americana all-star Jim Lauderdale, and some of Music Row’s most creative writers – such as Jessie Jo Dillon, Tony Lane, Liz Rose, and Morgane and Chris Stapleton, among many others. In this interview with Good Country, Keith talks about discovering country’s legends through his grandparents, learning to love the English language because of dyslexia, and hearing those inescapable ’90s country comparisons.

On this album, “Under Them Neons” sets the scene of a night in a country bar. It has a reference to Keith Whitley in it, too. He had a bluegrass pedigree, as you know, before he became a country star. Did you ever get interested in bluegrass?

Braxton Keith: I would say I have always been interested in bluegrass. Now I, by no means, am a bluegrass picker or anything of that sort, but I’ve always been interested in bluegrass, for sure. It’s such an interesting form of country music, I’d say. Very intricate, and it’s really cool to just watch. In fact, “I Ain’t Tryin’” on this record is written by Brice Long, Carson Peters, and Will Jones, and Carson is a bluegrass picker. He plays in a bluegrass band [Carson Peters & Iron Mountain] and opens up for us every once in a while.

How did you get introduced to Keith Whitley’s music?

Keith Whitley’s probably always been in the background for me. But definitely through listening to whatever was on the radio, listening to my grandparents’ old records and stuff. Keith Whitley has definitely been one that I’ve known about for a long time. I would say him, George Strait, Marty Robbins, and Ronnie Milsap … all the deep divers that you got to go in and figure out yourself.

Is that what you did? Figured it out for yourself?

I just tried to figure out what I liked the best. I really was attracted to these older artists because of the storytelling, but also they have a technical skill about their writing – and their melodies. Some of their melodies are pretty insane that I was trying to emulate, longing to hear again, or to make new.

You say you were listening to your grandparents’ records. Were they vinyl records?

Yes, sir. I don’t remember how old I was, but I remember sitting down and listening to Marty Robbins for the first time and Porter Wagoner. I remember hearing “The Carroll County Accident” and just thinking, “What is this? This is a whole different type of music that I’ve never even experienced before.” I think I was like 13, maybe even younger than that.

Every time we went over there, the Grand Ole Opry was on TV, or CMT was on at least, so we were always exposed to it. I guess I just didn’t realize what was going on until I got a little bit older. I got an iPod, and I think it was the Shuffle. It didn’t even have a screen. You just had to know what your songs were. That was the first time I really got interested in checking out music for myself. I didn’t have to listen to exactly what my parents were listening to anymore.

My mom was a big ‘80s rock person. She really didn’t like country music very much at all, because it’s very sad, she thinks. [Laughs] And my dad was listening to country music, but just whatever was on the radio. He wasn’t very specific in what he liked to listen to.

I’d read that your brothers were athletic, but you were not. However, you had musical talent. Is that accurate to say?

I would say, yeah. I tried to be athletic. I wanted to be, but they definitely had a leg up on me, on the sports and stuff. When I was a little kid we did this thing called Greater Midland Football League. From when you’re in third grade to when you’re in sixth grade you can go after school and do a football program. I never got to do that, because in third grade I actually figured out I was dyslexic. So, every day after school, I would go to classes and learn about the English language, which is probably why I ended up liking writing. So it all works out in the end. I was just a couple years behind when it got to football.

When you were learning about the English language, did you like to read too?

No. That was my big deal, that I struggled – I still do struggle – with reading. It just takes me a little bit longer and I have to really slow down and be thinking about what I’m reading to understand it. I like audiobooks a lot. Anything that I can do where I’m listening to somebody else read helps. But I would say I just liked writing. Before it was songs, I liked writing essays or whatever the assignment was. I’ve always liked writing. Coming up with my own stuff.

Did you play instruments during this time?

Yeah, absolutely. I played piano since I was in kindergarten, and I ended up playing for a while. I played for six to seven years and then I ended up quitting piano. I started piano because I loved Elton John. He was my big inspiration behind music when I was really young. I really wanted to learn “Crocodile Rock” and my piano teacher just wouldn’t let me do it. So I was like, “Man, I gotta go do something else.”

That was about the time I started picking up guitar, because my little brother was playing guitar at the time. So I was like, “Well, I’ll just go to lessons with him.” I started picking it up, got my first guitar, and never looked back. He doesn’t play anymore, but we started out together picking “Hotel California.” I remember us just sitting there for hours trying to get that thing down.

On this album, “Wind Blows” reminds me of how country music sounded in the ’90s. It reminds me of a Tim McGraw deep cut. What do you like most about “Wind Blows”?

I like the story it tells. You know, I grew up in Midland, Texas. And if there’s anything we know about Midland, it’s that there’s a lot of wind blowing in Midland. It’s kind of telling the story of how, when I lived in Midland, Midland was the end of the earth to me. There was nothing else there. And once I left, I never looked back. I went to Angelo [State University in San Angelo]. I’ve moved to San Antonio and Nashville, and we’re traveling all over all the time, just running and gunning. And the road keeps on going, you know? It’s cool to reminisce on the past, but my time in Midland’s gone and it ain’t coming back. That’s kind of what “Wind Blows” means.

Do you like it when people use the ’90s country comparison? Do you think that’s flattering? Or do you have an opinion when people say you sound like ’90s country?

I don’t have an opinion. The thing is, I don’t know if I’ve ever labeled it, which is funny to me. … You’ve heard the record. I would say it’d be very hard to pin that as ‘90s country. I would say that there’s some ‘90s elements in there, but there are elements from a lot of different dates in country music within that. I would just say we’re country, and we’re just trying to be country.

Well, you do start with a Western swing tune on this record.

Absolutely. Have you heard Jake Worthington’s new record? He has a song called “My Home’s in Oklahoma” and that one is a Western swing song. I heard that one after I’d been on a big Bob Wills kick. I just came back from Houston. Most of the rides that I do, I try to listen to different music every time. I was listening to a bunch of Bob Wills. When I heard that Jake Worthington swing tune, it was like, “Oh, son, we’ve got to have a Western swing tune on this record!”

So we called in Brice and Carson. That’s when Carson’s bluegrass magic came out. They ended up writing that beautiful “I Ain’t Tryin’” Western swing song. You couldn’t ask for a better song to start this record off. It’s upbeat, gets you in there. We’ve been ending the set with “I Ain’t Tryin’” lately, and it’s really fun. The crowds dig it. It’s a good one to just swing around to.

Did you ever get pursued to be on The Voice or American Idol or shows like that?

Not until after I was already pursuing this pretty heavily, and at that time, I was trying to stay away from those avenues. I’ve heard some nightmare stories about their contracts and how you are allowed to put out music after the show. And I just kind of knew where we were going. That’s the cool thing about being a Texas artist. There’s so many other Texas artists that are running around on the road, booking their own shows, that you can just learn from some of those guys. That’s basically what I did.

Jake Worthington [who was on The Voice in 2014] had a long talk with me about what he thought about TV and the way that it impacted his career. At that time in my career, I just didn’t think that it was necessary for me to do anything like that. I definitely think it helps put your name out there a lot more. But it also can have some hindrances sometimes.

How did you find the Roger Miller tune, “Am I All Alone (Or Is It Only Me)”?

I do believe Jamey Johnson was talking to William Beckmann one day and telling him, “Man, that’s such a great tune. You should cut that on your next record.” And then me and William ended up going and having a couple drinks, which turned into a bunch of drinks. And he was like, “Man, I listened to this song, and I’m kind of thinking about cutting it.” So I started listening to it. I was like, “Yo, are you gonna cut that song? Because if not, I’m cutting it. Like, I’m going to the studio tomorrow. I’m cutting it.” He was like, “Yeah, go ahead.” So we ended up putting it on the record. It’s one of my favorite songs to play live. It’s one of my favorite songs on the record. It’s such a beautiful song. Every time that I hear it, I’m like, “That is such a well-written song.”

Are there other songs on your record that you would like people to know about?

I would say the only other thing that we didn’t talk about is, there’s a Mae Estes collab on there, “Hurt by Heart.” I met Mae on the road about two years ago, like, less than 100 miles south of Canada somewhere, at a festival. She was singing and just blew me away. Her voice is so beautiful. She has such a great classic timbre to her voice that I knew I needed her on this record.

We’d been looking for a duet piece for a long time. Ended up writing “Hurt by Heart” [with Trent Tomlinson and Scotty Emerick] and pitched it to her. She came over to the studio one day, dressed and ready for a show that she had in Nashville somewhere. She cut her part in 10 minutes and then I spent the next two hours trying to make my part sound as good as hers. [Laughs] I just can’t brag on Mae enough. The audience that hasn’t heard Mae should definitely check her out. Her music is really good.

You’re surrounding yourself with good people. You got Mae Estes, William Beckmann, Jake Worthingon… It’s refreshing to see this new generation cheering each other on.

That’s the way you gotta do it, man. We’re all in this together. Everybody needs to be cheering each other on and helping everybody out. That’s the way I see it.

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Photo Credit: Benjamin Humphrey