There was a time when country-rock quartet Midnight North was synonymous with Terrapin Crossroads, the venue where they performed weekly as part of a longtime residency that began soon after the band formed in 2012.
“We really had a chance to find a homebase there,” says Midnight North vocalist, songwriter and guitarist Elliott Peck. “It was a perfect storm because we were able to try out our new material and formulate our sound before we started taking it out on the road.”
These days, Midnight North—made up of Peck and co-frontman, guitarist and vocalist Grahame Lesh, bassist Connor O’Sullivan and drummer Nathan Graham—spends more and more time on the road. They toured nationally for long stretches for most of last year, so this weekend’s Jan. 18 show at their old San Rafael stomping grounds is a homecoming of sorts.
The band kept busy writing new songs while on the road, and soon they’ll record their first studio album since 2017’s Under The Lights, at San Anselmo’s Allegiant Records.
“We’re very excited to get back in the studio,” Peck says. “This record will be a little bit different, because as a band we write a song and we get out there and see where (the song) goes in front of an audience, but a lot of songs for this record folks have not heard; we haven’t tested them out. So I think it will be fun for fans to get a package with brand-new things they may not have heard before.”
For fans who want a preview of what’s to come, Midnight North does have a new single—“Long View”—on their website. It features the band’s signature male-female vocal harmonies, lush acoustic instrumentation and evocative lyrics, which the band credits to Lesh and Graham.
“Our drummer, Nathan, has been with us two years now—he hasn’t actually done a studio record with us, and we discovered lately that he is quite the songwriter himself,” Peck says.
Peck promises that fans will get to hear other new songs, along with old favorites, at the upcoming concert. There will also be several surprises and guests.
“It’s going to be a fun night,” she says. “A mix of great music and hometown fans.”
