The Long Road Sit Down with Midland
The twice Grammy nominated and Billboard chart topping trio of Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy and Jess Carson have been consistent visitors on this side of the pond since their debut at C2C: Country to Country back in 2018. Since then, Midland played Europe’s largest country music festival once more across Great Britian and Ireland, then also would headline the sister event in mainland Europe this year where they headlined in both Berlin and Rotterdam. The UK audience got their first chance to see a headline set at a festival during this year’s The Long Road over the August bank holiday weekend in Leicestershire where they took some time out to chat with us.
Midland, welcome to Long Road, it’s wonderful to have you here. It feels like a while since you have been over here but I saw you in March when I came over to Berlin and I actually thought it was the best Midland show I've ever seen.
“Really? I remember that show because that was a fly day for us and when you're working with all different equipment, especially like on the monitor side, I was having massive issues. It felt a really rough show for us so sometimes you know, people can't see that inner turmoil and sometimes when things are off, it focusses you, like, you have to just lock in and you're looking at this playing on instinct because you can't even hear the fucking kick drum. You’re just completely lost in your own world, so it's not a fun show to play, but sometimes it can be pretty efficient.”
How do you find like the German audience compared to like the UK audience?
“The German audience is fantastic. They're great, but I feel like the German audience really sits back and really listens, they’re much more restrained I feel as opposed to like the UK audience, you know, you can go to a football match and see how Brits really express themselves in a public form.”
I think the mainland European audiences are truer to what people are expecting before they come over where people are very attentive.
“I think the UK audiences are really rowdy.”
You want people to be rowdy tonight, like throwing beers around and stuff?
“The rowdier the better. I like rowdy crowds. I remember we played a tiny show in Dublin years ago, it was a really cool little venue that was all wood.”
“Yeah, a little tiny theatre and that was the last show we played and that was one of the wildest crowds I can remember.”
“That was the tour where we were literally on the London double-decker red bus and it was built out of a little bit of metal, some rubber on the tires and then just piss. The whole thing just smelt like piss. Who was the last band to have that bus?”
“Nikki Sixx’s band. They like burned the bus after their tour.”
“It was going into retirement and they’re like ah, one more tour, we can get a few quid out of these guys.”
“The London double-decker red bus that had portholes.”
“I thought it was UB40’s bus.”
“Nikki Sixx, UB40, same guys.”
Midland, welcome to Long Road, it’s wonderful to have you here. It feels like a while since you have been over here but I saw you in March when I came over to Berlin and I actually thought it was the best Midland show I've ever seen.
“Really? I remember that show because that was a fly day for us and when you're working with all different equipment, especially like on the monitor side, I was having massive issues. It felt a really rough show for us so sometimes you know, people can't see that inner turmoil and sometimes when things are off, it focusses you, like, you have to just lock in and you're looking at this playing on instinct because you can't even hear the fucking kick drum. You’re just completely lost in your own world, so it's not a fun show to play, but sometimes it can be pretty efficient.”
How do you find like the German audience compared to like the UK audience?
“The German audience is fantastic. They're great, but I feel like the German audience really sits back and really listens, they’re much more restrained I feel as opposed to like the UK audience, you know, you can go to a football match and see how Brits really express themselves in a public form.”
I think the mainland European audiences are truer to what people are expecting before they come over where people are very attentive.
“I think the UK audiences are really rowdy.”
You want people to be rowdy tonight, like throwing beers around and stuff?
“The rowdier the better. I like rowdy crowds. I remember we played a tiny show in Dublin years ago, it was a really cool little venue that was all wood.”
“Yeah, a little tiny theatre and that was the last show we played and that was one of the wildest crowds I can remember.”
“That was the tour where we were literally on the London double-decker red bus and it was built out of a little bit of metal, some rubber on the tires and then just piss. The whole thing just smelt like piss. Who was the last band to have that bus?”
“Nikki Sixx’s band. They like burned the bus after their tour.”
“It was going into retirement and they’re like ah, one more tour, we can get a few quid out of these guys.”
“The London double-decker red bus that had portholes.”
“I thought it was UB40’s bus.”
“Nikki Sixx, UB40, same guys.”
I know you've probably not seen too much so far and you haven’t played yet, but in terms of the setting, logistics and everything, how does The Long Road feel compared to festivals back at home?
“Well, luckily we have a whole team that actually does the real work. All we do is show up and just blabber on when people ask us questions. So far, the initial take is that it's a really class festival, the whole artist compound is awesome, obviously, the grounds are breathtaking with the whole estate built by the Stanford family. I wish we had landed in a helicopter like Oasis did at Knebworth.”
We did see a helicopter coming in this morning and we’re like do you reckon Big Machine have gone to town with their budget for you guys headlining.
“We should have thought of that but the helicopter we would have come in on would have been like a kit helicopter where somebody would have to have been on the skids outside because it couldn’t hold the three of us.”
“Honestly, I have never been in a helicopter and I don’t ever want to.
“My dad got in a crash in helicopter.”
So, there’s some bad vibes about helicopters.
“Yeah, not rolling the dice but it seems awesome so far. We get to headline our first ever outdoor festival in the UK which is really cool, man. I actually even know we were the headliner until we got here.”
“Yeah, me neither. I was like, who's the headliner tonight and they're like you are, you idiot.”
The crowd were rowdy last night for Drake Milligan. It was the first time they'd ever done a Friday night here on the main stage. I think it’s his only show over here but you’re here for a while after.
“Tonight is our first of eleven over the next, I think fifteen days.”
You've got William Prince open up for you on those dates as well, which is going to be really cool.
“Yeah and Larry Fleet is on right before us here and Larry is a great dude.”
I got to meet him for the first time about half an hour ago.
“He's amazing. Actually, we're working with the same producer back in the States who is Trent Wilmon. Trent did Drake's record too so he’s become like the producer. We've played a bunch of shows with Drake, he's such a sweet, like earnest guy, there's no ego, which is amazing and the same with Larry, whereas us we are like egomaniacs. We have all these rules, like you’re not supposed to look people in the eye.”
That’s like a golden rule in London. Eye contact on the tube is a cardinal sin, we just don’t do it.
“Really?”
Yeah, people don’t talk to each other on transport.
“Yeah, the Brits are very contained until they go to the pub and just let it loose.”
So true.
“You Brits wear your emotions more on the inside.”
I would say so. Another friend who is here as well is Mackenzie and it’s nicely convenient that you put a song out together, then your all here on the same bill.
“Mackenzie is like the little sister of Midland, that's kind of what it feels like. She's a total road dog, she can drink beers and she can hang. She’s in her band with her brother Micah and her whole band is awesome. We were just on tour with him them in Montana and Idaho, they're a great hang, which is to just kind of get a gift where Mackenzie's like, hey, do you want to sing on this song? It’s a great song and it's been awesome for us kind of creating some momentum before we release our new album.”
“Well, luckily we have a whole team that actually does the real work. All we do is show up and just blabber on when people ask us questions. So far, the initial take is that it's a really class festival, the whole artist compound is awesome, obviously, the grounds are breathtaking with the whole estate built by the Stanford family. I wish we had landed in a helicopter like Oasis did at Knebworth.”
We did see a helicopter coming in this morning and we’re like do you reckon Big Machine have gone to town with their budget for you guys headlining.
“We should have thought of that but the helicopter we would have come in on would have been like a kit helicopter where somebody would have to have been on the skids outside because it couldn’t hold the three of us.”
“Honestly, I have never been in a helicopter and I don’t ever want to.
“My dad got in a crash in helicopter.”
So, there’s some bad vibes about helicopters.
“Yeah, not rolling the dice but it seems awesome so far. We get to headline our first ever outdoor festival in the UK which is really cool, man. I actually even know we were the headliner until we got here.”
“Yeah, me neither. I was like, who's the headliner tonight and they're like you are, you idiot.”
The crowd were rowdy last night for Drake Milligan. It was the first time they'd ever done a Friday night here on the main stage. I think it’s his only show over here but you’re here for a while after.
“Tonight is our first of eleven over the next, I think fifteen days.”
You've got William Prince open up for you on those dates as well, which is going to be really cool.
“Yeah and Larry Fleet is on right before us here and Larry is a great dude.”
I got to meet him for the first time about half an hour ago.
“He's amazing. Actually, we're working with the same producer back in the States who is Trent Wilmon. Trent did Drake's record too so he’s become like the producer. We've played a bunch of shows with Drake, he's such a sweet, like earnest guy, there's no ego, which is amazing and the same with Larry, whereas us we are like egomaniacs. We have all these rules, like you’re not supposed to look people in the eye.”
That’s like a golden rule in London. Eye contact on the tube is a cardinal sin, we just don’t do it.
“Really?”
Yeah, people don’t talk to each other on transport.
“Yeah, the Brits are very contained until they go to the pub and just let it loose.”
So true.
“You Brits wear your emotions more on the inside.”
I would say so. Another friend who is here as well is Mackenzie and it’s nicely convenient that you put a song out together, then your all here on the same bill.
“Mackenzie is like the little sister of Midland, that's kind of what it feels like. She's a total road dog, she can drink beers and she can hang. She’s in her band with her brother Micah and her whole band is awesome. We were just on tour with him them in Montana and Idaho, they're a great hang, which is to just kind of get a gift where Mackenzie's like, hey, do you want to sing on this song? It’s a great song and it's been awesome for us kind of creating some momentum before we release our new album.”
That’s something on the cards for next year then, from what I understand. Where exactly are we in terms of the stages behind the scenes?
“We're through the recording process, we're mixing right now, well, we’re trying to mix and we would love to put the album out this year but it might be a little tight on timing. I think it's kind of a crowded landscape for putting music out for the rest of this year, so it's probably the top of the year. There's a whole art for putting music out. You want to have a single that's working in a certain way. It's just things that aren’t in our control in the modern era.”
Lastly, right now, you're all on the Signature lager here, but what's typically in the Midland, rider? What’s your go-to?
“We need to redo our rider because it's totally antiquated at this point. There are so many snacks on our rider that we don't eat, it’s all for our tour manager. What it should be really is a good salsa, a good chip, which is hard to get over here.”
“Salsa is the worst to get in the road, it gives you an acid reflux.”
“I love salsa!”
“Oh, my God. I've seen Cameron, literally after a show, just sit down with a full brand new bag of tortilla chips, a full fucking thing of salsa and you sit there in happiness.”
“I love sunflower seeds, those are good to have.”
“The only thing I need on a rider, actually the only two things I need, okay, the only three things I need are beef jerky, an energy shot and Coors Light.”
I like that. I’m glad that you’re Coors Light guys too.
“Cameron switches back and forth between White Claw and Coors Light.”
I’ll admit I love a bit of White Claw, but right now I’m becoming a real stereotype Cowboys fan and on Modelo a lot as you can get it a lot easier over here now.
“Do you ever put like tulua on the can and a bit of lime just on the can, it’s great.”
“I'm going to go Mexican Pacifico bottles which I love.”
You can find them here, but it’s so rare.
“Pacifico is my second favourite beer of all time. My first is Coors Light but if I lived in a cold place, if I lived in Ireland or the UK, I would drink Guinness every single day.”
“We're through the recording process, we're mixing right now, well, we’re trying to mix and we would love to put the album out this year but it might be a little tight on timing. I think it's kind of a crowded landscape for putting music out for the rest of this year, so it's probably the top of the year. There's a whole art for putting music out. You want to have a single that's working in a certain way. It's just things that aren’t in our control in the modern era.”
Lastly, right now, you're all on the Signature lager here, but what's typically in the Midland, rider? What’s your go-to?
“We need to redo our rider because it's totally antiquated at this point. There are so many snacks on our rider that we don't eat, it’s all for our tour manager. What it should be really is a good salsa, a good chip, which is hard to get over here.”
“Salsa is the worst to get in the road, it gives you an acid reflux.”
“I love salsa!”
“Oh, my God. I've seen Cameron, literally after a show, just sit down with a full brand new bag of tortilla chips, a full fucking thing of salsa and you sit there in happiness.”
“I love sunflower seeds, those are good to have.”
“The only thing I need on a rider, actually the only two things I need, okay, the only three things I need are beef jerky, an energy shot and Coors Light.”
I like that. I’m glad that you’re Coors Light guys too.
“Cameron switches back and forth between White Claw and Coors Light.”
I’ll admit I love a bit of White Claw, but right now I’m becoming a real stereotype Cowboys fan and on Modelo a lot as you can get it a lot easier over here now.
“Do you ever put like tulua on the can and a bit of lime just on the can, it’s great.”
“I'm going to go Mexican Pacifico bottles which I love.”
You can find them here, but it’s so rare.
“Pacifico is my second favourite beer of all time. My first is Coors Light but if I lived in a cold place, if I lived in Ireland or the UK, I would drink Guinness every single day.”
The latest track “Glass Half Empty” from Midland is out now via Big Machine Records and is available HERE. You can learn more about the guys and find details of all of their upcoming North American dates on their WEBSITE whilst you can follow them socially to keep up with all that they are up to on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK.
The Long Road Festival will return to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire in 2026 between Thursday 27th and Sunday 30th August, with tickets on sale now. You can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of next year’s event by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.
The Long Road Festival will return to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire in 2026 between Thursday 27th and Sunday 30th August, with tickets on sale now. You can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of next year’s event by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.
