Middle West began as an Acoustic Duo, when old town Noblesville locals Josh Cecil and Tyler Mechem met at Syd's and started talking about music.
"We were hanging out at Syd's with a group of townies listening to the Moontown Pickle Stompers, when Tyler asked me what my favortie song was. I said The Weight by The Band" Cecil recalled, " Tyler said, I close all my sets with that song! I said, Me too! Did we just start a band?!"
As it turns out, they did.
After playing around Noblesville, they eventually added lead guitarist Sean Oatis, drummer Jamie Miles, bass player Stuart Martin, and a recent addition in Natalie Gain on Fiddle."
"I took a long break from music, about 14 years, I was busy being a dad I guess." Cecil said, "When I went through a painful divorce in 2023, music became a way for me to process everything. I started writing again and found some much needed joy in playing with Tyler and eventually the rest of the band."
When it comes to Middle West's sound, Cecil calls it, "Honest Midwestern Rock N Roll, which of course means nothing. I guess we're a little bit Rock and a little bit Country... maybe Americana is the best genre label?"
"We are continuing to find our sound, but I feel drawn to the rootsy rock of Tom Petty, CCR, and Mellencamp. That said, I grew up in a household where everyone else was listening to country so I certainly have a lot of country music swirling around in my brain."
The band is currently working on what they hope to be their first album featuring all original music. "These songs are really me talking about life post divorce... the hard stuff, the sweet stuff, heartache, new relationships, and lessons learned."
"We've been playing 4 or 5 them at our gigs, and we always get some comments on them. People will say, what was that one song...who's that by?"
"It's kind of fun to tell them it's an original. There's been a couple of times I've seen folks singing along to the song when we get to the last chorus, so that seems like a pretty good sign that we're on to something."
You can catch Middle West playing around Hamilton County and see them at the Noblesville Street Dance on July 20th. Check out some of their original music and see their full schedule by visiting www.middlewestmusic.com
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