The band Midland was formed in Dripping Springs, Texas. The trio met separately around Los Angeles, where Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy were in a number of bands through a number of years. After Carson left L.A., Duddy and Mark Wystrach met and formed a country-rock band called The Young Whiskey. The trio met up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Duddy's wedding in August 2013; both Wystrach and Carson acted as groomsmen. As Duddy recalls the story, Carson and Wystrach arrived in Jackson Hole for the wedding a week early. After playing songs together on the front porch of Carson's cabin, they proposed starting a project together. Six months later, in January 2014, Duddy called Carson and Wystrach to suggest that they record some songs, and they went to the Sonic Ranch recording studio in El Paso, TX to record for 10 days. As stated by Wystrach, "when we went to the Sonic Ranch, we became a band. We walked away believing in what had happened." Wystrach and Duddy both moved with their families to Texas where Carson lived. They named the band after a song by musician Dwight Yoakam that was called "Fair to Midland".
Mark Wystrach grew up surrounded by music as his parents were both fans of live music. His parents owned a country music venue where he was exposed to music. He was also an actor and model.
Jess Carson grew up on a farm in Oregon where the main genre was country music. His sister and father were both musicians, so he started playing guitar.

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