Mississippi Southern rock group Midnight Revel is going on tour following the release of their first full-length album “Desperate Times and Blind Eyes.”
Starting March 8, the group will be traveling the southeast playing shows in Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile and ending in their hometown Hattiesburg.
Lead singer and Hattiesburg native Tyler Tisdale said this upcoming tour with Midnight Revel is a guaranteed good time on the road and on stage.
“Going on tour with these guys is always fun,” Tisdale said. “We are all just a bunch of friends riding around in van doing what we love. We make feel good music so comradery is the most important part of our sound and what we do.”
Midnight Revel performed Friday, Jan. 25 at Sidelines Sports Café in Hattiesburg, where they played newly released singles from their new album while improvising covers of artists like Bill Withers, Outkast and the Allman Brothers in between songs.
Musician, fan and Wayne County high school teacher Sarah Nichols said their ability to improvise is what makes Midnight Revel’s shows truly stand out.
“You will never see the same show more than once. Every time they perform they bring something new to the performance,” Nichols said.
Guitarist and vocalist Shelby Kemp says connecting to the audience is the most important part of playing music.
“When we perform we perform according to the crowd and the venue,” Kemp said. “Connecting with the audience is the most important aspect, which is why you will hear us playing everything from Bill Withers to Justin Timberlake.”
The band agrees that their musical fluidity comes from keeping themselves away from genre labels.
Drummer Daniel Firth says labeling and categorizing yourself leads to musical stagnancy.
“We’re a Southern Fusion, we’re rock, we’re a jam band, we’re funk, soul and rhythm and blues but we’re much more, and not labeling ourselves gives us freedom to play what and how we want,” Firth said. “The intersection of our individual tastes adds another layer of uniqueness and creativity in our music”
Tisdale said Desperate Times and Blind Eyes touches everything musically that the band is into. The song catalog has every genre from rhythm and blues to southern rock, soul and instrumental ballads.
Tisdale said their album is about everything crazy happening right now in the band’s life and the world.
“Times are crazy,” Tisdale said. “There are songs about the media. There are songs about losing friends to addiction. There are songs about heartache and moving forward. The band is always headed in a different direction, and sometimes we are still just figuring it all. The name says it all.”
“Desperate Times and Blind Eyes” is now available on all major music streaming platforms.
