If you wanted to be all buzzy and clickbaity about it, you could proclaim “Marcus King goes country!” or “Marcus King releases a country album!” But that’s not really what’s going on here.
There are many festivals out there now catering to independent country and Americana. But in three short seasons and amid a pandemic, Under The Big Sky Fest has quickly made the case for being the biggest and most important of all off the strength of its lineups.
It’s not that those “authenticity” concerns don’t continue to linger. But Midland is most certainly a mainstream country music bright spot, and has been ever since the band’s inception. This new album is no exception, once again taking Midland’s throwback 90s-era style…
I listened to the entirety of ‘The Sonic Ranch’ album by Midland and watched all of the 45-minute documentary so you don’t have to. It’s not that it’s terrible, or in any way offensive. For what it is, it’s fine, and you can’t approach either the album or the film as if these were finished products
Midland will not be heading to Europe in a few days for scheduled tour dates in December as planned, and will also miss upcoming shows in Idaho and Las Vegas after postponing all their remaining tour dates in 2019 to deal with a family emergency. “We regretfully must postpone our upcoming tour due to a medical emergency.”
As time has gone on, I find myself disliking these dudes more and more because I can’t beat back the obvious reality that we’re being misled about these guys. Midland is a machination of the big Music Row industrial complex, no different than most major label artists.