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World Cafe Nashville: Midland

Midland blends honky-tonk with Laurel Canyon country-rock.
Harper Smith
/
Courtesy of the artist
Midland blends honky-tonk with Laurel Canyon country-rock.

The country-music business is show business, whether the bright lights shine at the Grand Ole Opry or at a small dance hall on a lonely Western highway. Mark Wystrach, lead singer for Midland, learned the ropes of that business working at his parents' restaurant and dance hall, the Steak Out, in Sonoita, Ariz. Later he became an actor in Los Angeles, where he met Jess Carson, an Oregon farmer's son, and Cameron Duddy, a Hollywood kid whose love of music had led him to country, too.

The three friends eventually formed the trio Midland, a harmony-based group that melds the spirit of the honky-tonk with the Laurel Canyon country-rock of Gram Parsons and the Eagles. Midland is now based just outside of Austin, Texas, and finding success in both Americana and mainstream country with instant classics like the mournful "Drinkin' Problem." We talked to Midland not far from the offices of its record label, Big Machine, on Nashville's Music Row.

Copyright 2017 XPN

Ann Powers
Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.
Talia Schlanger
Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.