NEPA Scene Staff

Peach Fest standout Midnight North performs at River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains on Aug. 23

Peach Fest standout Midnight North performs at River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains on Aug. 23
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From a press release:

Americana rock band Midnight North, which features guitarist/vocalist Grahame Lesh, the son of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, will play their last club show of the summer at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains on Friday, Aug. 23 with People’s Blues of Richmond.

“Last year, Rolling Stone said we were the Best New Act at the Peach Music Festival 2018, and now we’re coming back to the area to rock and roll with y’all,” the band said.

Doors at the Jazz Cafe (667 N. River St., Plains) open at 8 p.m., and the 21+ show starts at 10 p.m. Tickets, which are $12 in advance or $18 the day of the show, can be purchased online via HoldMyTicket.

It’s full steam ahead for Midnight North after an exciting year featuring major festivals, a nationwide tour, and the release of a second live record. They headlined tours and played in support of heavy hitters, such as Grammy Award winners The Infamous Stringdusters. Rolling Stone hailed Midnight North as the “Best New Act” in its review of the 2018 Peach Music Festival, saying the band “takes the best parts of roots music and weaves them into a tapestry of rock and Americana.”

“Lesh leads a group that just as easily sounds like Buckingham-Nicks era Fleetwood Mac in its soulful rock simplicity as it does a Dead outfit,” reviewer Matt Mattei wrote. And the best is still to come.

In the summer of 2018, Midnight North released their second live record, “Selections from the Great American Music Hall.” This eight-track album features original live staples like “Everyday” and “Playing a Poor Hand Well” as well as covers like John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” and the Dead’s “The Music Never Stopped.” The concert album also features guest appearances by Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, members of Twiddle, and the band’s hometown horn section, The Northbound Horns.

Immediately after their sophomore studio release, 2015’s “Scarlet Skies,” Midnight North – fronted by lead songwriters Elliott Peck and Grahame Lesh with lush Hammond B3 organ, harmony work from Alex Jordan, and a strong rhythm section from bass player Connor O’Sullivan and drummer Nathan Graham – began touring the country in earnest, visiting the East Coast and the Midwest for the first time in the summer of 2015. The band wrote the majority of 2017’s “Under the Lights” in the following months, and the lyrical road themes – the initial excitement, the longing for home, and the inherent need to keep moving – shine through.

“‘Under the Lights’ is the perfect title for this collection of songs,” O’Sullivan said. “These songs and lyrics are about being a band of musicians on the road away from home – songs literally performed and tested under the lights at countless venues across the U.S.”

Midnight North continue growing in 2019 as the expanding discography and consistent national touring help pave the way for more and more fans to discover the band.

“These songs tell our story, at least up to this point,” Lesh said. “Our job is to sing you these stories as honestly as we can and transport you into our world for an hour or two.”