Midland Felt 'Sense of Duty' to Pursue Country Music Career

The three guys who make up the ACM Award-winning trio Midland – Mark Wystrach, Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy – each had successful careers before they joined together to make music. But although their decision to leave stability to pursue a passion might seem risky to some, the guys say once they realized the chemistry they had together musically, they never considered any other option.

"It was just the calling," says Duddy. "It doesn't happen for everybody when you get this, like overwhelming sense of duty to do something. And for all of us it was that, and it overrode any prior success or lifestyles that we had been living in California, which was pretty kick a–. But life's a carnival, as The Band said – you don't just hop on one ride and do it for four hours, you kind of want to experience everything. And that for us is this journey."

Ultimately, it was Midland's love of music that sang louder than anything else in their personal or professional lives.

"We want the most out of life," Duddy adds. "We all could have stayed doing what was obvious, I guess maybe just a path of least resistance for us back in California and wherever we were before Midland, but this was the calling and it was overwhelming and I don't think anybody was strong enough to deny the urge to kind of follow this thing."

Midland's gamble has clearly paid off. In addition to taking home the 2018 ACM Award for New Vocal Duo or Group, the threesome were also nominated for a GRAMMY earlier this year, for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Drinkin' Problem," their debut single from their freshman On the Rocks album, which landed at the top of the charts.

After years, and years, of struggling to make ends meet, the ability to see the results of their hard work makes it all worthwhile.

"The great thing about the success is that it eases that side of things," Wystrach tells AllAccess.com. "But, then, as you know, the demands get even higher and bigger. So, we're going to just do what we've always done and lean back into the music and what this band is about -- writing about our life and writing about the experiences between relationships, the experience with the road, the struggle, and kind of the landscape that we know."

Midland is also nominated for two more ACM Awards, for Vocal Group of the Year and Single Record of the Year, for "Drinkin' Problem."

The 2018 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15 at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Instagram/Midland