MIDLAND bassist Cameron Duddy thought his dreams of breaking into the music industry as a performer were dead and buried.
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However, it was hardly dire straits.
Duddy had already built a substantial resume in Los Angeles as a commercial and music video director, working with the likes of Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez, OneRepublic, Grouplove, Rod Stewart, Brandi Carlile and Australian pop star and Commonwealth Games swimmer Cody Simpson.
Mars' Uptown Funk video, which Duddy directed, has been viewed 4.7 billion times on YouTube.
Despite this success behind the camera, Duddy still harboured dreams of performing his own music.
In a moment that's often been mythologised in the Midland story, it was Duddy's wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 2013 that ignited the plan.
Duddy's groomsmen Mark Wystrach and Jess Carson decided to form a country-rock band in the style of their '70s heroes The Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
It was an opportunity Duddy, 36, describes as his "10th chance".
"I thought I was done with music at that point," Duddy says over Zoom. "I'd stopped playing in bands and I started to get into film in that way. Midland popped up and formed after all that and I was older, more experienced as a late 20-year-old and I'd seen a lot of experienced people.
"Maybe there was a business acumen I picked up on being around people like that [Mars], which I took to Midland when we started it."
The chemistry was immediate. Midland's debut single in 2017, Drinkin' Problem, reached No.4 on the US Country Chart and their subsequent first album, On The Rocks, peaked at No.2 on the country chart and went top-20 in the Billboard chart.
The momentum has continued to build with the albums Let It Roll (2019) and The Last Resort: Greetings From (2022), which are filled with rich harmonies of boozy nights, getting high and breaking hearts.
"We were friends before we started, so that had a lot to do with the early struggles of any band that gets together," Duddy says.
"You're up against the elements that are working against musicians in the world of business and it takes an incredible bond to weather those early challenges, so to speak.
"That's probably what got us through, that critical hill when you're starting a band and asking is this gonna work out?
"Had we not been friends going in I'm not sure if we would have had the stamina to keep pushing along."
Midland's good looks, carefully-crafted image of Texan cowboy hats and bedazzled nudie suits, and their industry contacts has left the trio open to accusations of being inauthentic.
I do believe we've changed the trajectory of what country radio sounds like and now you're seeing people skew back to a more traditional sound.
- Cameron Duddy, of Midland
Duddy is the son of film-maker Christopher Duddy and the step-son of Ellen actress Joely Fisher, while Wystrach has modelled for Calvin Klein.
The band's early claim of putting in "10,000 hours" of playing in Texas dive bars before their breakthrough has also been met with scepticism from some members of the US country music media.
"I think it'll have to be retrospective. You'll have to ask me in 10 years," Duddy says when asked where he stands on the authenticity debate.
"I could tell you that it feels like we're part of the mainstream, but on our own terms.
"That's how it feels right now. But 10 years from now looking back I'll probably tell you we were never considered part of the in-crowd at Nashville."
Whether or not Midland can be considered "authentic country", ultimately depends on the listener's beliefs.
What can't be disputed is Midland's '70s-inspired modern version of country music has been able bridge the gap between neo-traditional fans and the more commercially-driven Nashville sound.
"The pop-country version of country music that's been happening over the last decade is just an expression of a different type of country music," Duddy says.
"It really boils down to what your taste is, right? If you like it or not. It's not my thing but clearly a lot of people like it and it's been sustaining many a career.
"I can tell you as it pertains to Midland and the sound we brought to Nashville, I do believe we've changed the trajectory of what country radio sounds like and now you're seeing people skew back to a more traditional sound.
"I'll plant the flag, I think Midland had a lot to do with that."
Midland's popularity has also extended to Australia. In December they'll tour Australia for the second time, with special guest Cessnock Golden Guitar-winner Travis Collins.
In true country tradition, Duddy is gearing up to check out Aussie pubs.
"I'd like to get as drunk as I can humanly get in Sydney with my buddy who moved there eight years ago, who I haven't seen in a long time," he says.
"That's what I'm hoping to do. I wanna get mortal."
Midland play the Tamworth Town Hall (August 29); UC Refectory, Canberra (August 30); The Metro, Bar On The Hill, Newcastle (September 2) and the Enmore Theatre, Sydney (September 3).
