Midnight South
Midnight South is an American country band, that utilizes shades of rock and roll, pop, and old-time music. Formed organically in Central Arkansas, Midnight South is proud to bring their listeners the sounds of the Natural State.
Heavily influenced by iconic country artists of the 1990s through the 2010s, like Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band, and Midland, as well as more traditional country artists such as Merle Haggard, and Arkansas' own, Johnny Cash, the group harkens back to previous eras of country music, all while providing a fresh take on a familiar sound.
Sure to invoke feelings of nostalgia, Midnight South aims to give listeners a soundtrack for windows down cruising, two-stepping, or toe-tappin'.
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In September of 2021, friends Matt Sammons, Jeremy Castaldo, and J.L. Jones began writing and playing music together, along with other close friends. The group spent many late nights writing, jamming, and brainstorming ideas, organically forming into the country band Midnight South. Less than two years later, they were named “Vocal Group of the Year “by the Arkansas Country Music Awards Association.
The focal point of the music that emerged was prominent three-part harmonies. Having all grown up singing gospel music in church, as well as being heavily influenced by ‘80s and ‘90s country bands, such as Alabama, The Oak Ridge Boys, Diamond Rio, and Shenandoah, the band knew that big harmonies were sure to be a mainstay in its new music.
The band released its first single “Better Than A Country Song” shortly after forming. The track is “an ode to the simple way of rural southern living, but also a love song.” This release was closely followed by several subsequent singles: “So Country,” “I Find Home,” “Good Ol’ Days,” and “Girl I Was Looking For.” Recorded and engineered at Studio 2100 in Springfield, Missouri, with Jeff Smith at the helm, they provided the foundation for the band to begin playing shows with original material.
For the band’s latest single, “Girl From Mississippi,” the boys teamed up with Aaron Gillespie (who has produced various country artists and has written with several artists on country radio including Mitchell Tenpenny) and plan to release a full-length album produced by Gillespie in the coming months.
In April of 2022, the band got its first big breakout show opening for Easton Corbin at TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas. After an incredible reception from the home state crowd, things quickly took off from there. An increasingly busy schedule necessitated some personnel shifts, leading to the addition of drummer Darin Davis (Cabot, Arkansas) and lead guitar player Billy Lowe III (Russellville, Arkansas).
Since that first big show, Midnight South has shared the stage with many country music mainstays, some of which include Dylan Scott, Randy Houser, Colt Ford, Tyler Farr, The Josh Abbott Band, Frank Foster, Chris Cagle, Jon Langston, and Texas Hill.
Perhaps the band's crowning achievement, however, came in May of 2023, when they were selected as one of the eight Jim Beam session artists, performing at the 2023 Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach, Florida. Competing in a “battle of the bands” for a chance to open for Kenny Chesney at the festival, the band won decidedly and got to share the stage with the likes of Lily Rose, Bailey Zimmerman, Chase Rice, and most notably, Kenny Chesney. This marked Midnight South’s biggest show to date as they played for upwards of 25,000 country music fans.
2023 also saw the band nominated for “Entertainer of the Year” and “Vocal Group of the Year “by the Arkansas Country Music Awards Association. Riding high from the stellar performances at Gulf Coast Jam, the band traveled back home on little to no rest – in a van with no air conditioner – bound for the Arkansas Country Music Awards. At the ACMA ceremony, Midnight South performed its first single, “Better Than A Country Song,” and took home the Vocal Group of the Year award, just two days after their monumental performance in Panama City; it was truly a week to remember.
These successes launched the band into a very busy summer and fall tour schedule, including dates in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Michigan, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma, New York, and Illinois – expanding the band’s reach. A large part of this tour, dubbed The Kid With the Radio Tour, will be supporting Sister Hazel, a group also known for its incredible vocal harmonies.
The tour is aptly named after one of the band’s two forthcoming singles, “Kid With the Radio,” set to be released in October 2023. A reflection on growing up with “neon dreams” and wanting to be a country music star, the song highlights the band’s early influences by paying homage to its heroes in country music. The second single from the upcoming album, “Best Bar in Town” (release date TBD) is a song about a backwoods dive bar that ultimately is a conglomeration of the band’s favorite drinking spots. While the bar in the song may lack curb appeal, it makes up for it in its charm.
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