Meet Tommy Lyttle

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Lyttle.

Hi Tommy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Firstly, thanks for the opportunity to chat on behalf of my band, MIDNIGHT LIGHTS! We initially started this project in 2020 and settled on our current lineup in early 2022 – featuring Ryan Sharp (vocals), Amy Manofsky (bass/vocals), Alex Brewer (drums), and myself (guitar). In the meantime, we’ve played countless shows together and released 5 singles that leaned heavily on our early-2000 era pop-punk influences.

Our newest release (and lead single from our upcoming debut album), “Another Breakup Song,” showcases a more nuanced sound. We wanted this album to be the biggest and best version of the ‘MIDNIGHT LIGHTS’ sound that we’ve been developing over years of writing and performing. So, we really pushed ourselves creatively on this one and tried to incorporate a lot of different musical elements, blend different genres, and just generally think outside the box.

We owe a lot of credit to Matt Very at Very Tight Recordings for helping us bring our ideas to life – he tracked, mixed, and mastered the album titled Skip the Pleasantries, which will be available everywhere on July 26th.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We’ve traveled a challenging road to get to this point, but it’s been an incredibly rewarding one as well. We’ve all been playing live music for a long time, but when we started MIDNIGHT LIGHTS, we realized that we had a lot to learn about songwriting, production, promotion, and all the other stuff that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ that makes it possible to share your music with a wider audience.

There’s so much that goes into creating music beyond just performing it (although that’s a very important part). The most rewarding part of this journey, though, is that we all had the opportunity to learn these things together and support each other along the way, which, ultimately, resulted in an album that we’re really proud of and excited to share with listeners.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our early material is reminiscent of the 2000s era pop-punk that was so influential to us as young musicians. The longer we’ve played together and the further we’ve developed our writing process, the more our sound has taken on elements of mainstream pop-rock and alternative rock.

While the pop-punk style is still very much a part of what we do, our sound has evolved over time into something that really can’t be defined by one narrow genre label.

MIDNIGHT LIGHTS is a collaborative project – everyone contributes to the creative process, so everyone’s musical influences and tastes come through in the final product. I personally listen to a lot of different styles of music, from pop to metal to country, so I’m always open to incorporating new things in my writing.

In terms of your work and the industry, what changes do you expect to see over the next five to ten years?
I think the music industry as a whole is in a great place right now because so many artists are mixing genres. It seems like every “new music Friday,” the lines between genres get blurrier, and I love that.

Despite having flaws, I think the popularity of streaming and releasing singles has allowed artists to continuously redefine their sound with each release.

I know MIDNIGHT LIGHTS will continue to build on the sound we’ve developed throughout the process of creating our first album, and we’ll continue to take inspiration from other artists who are pushing the boundaries of pop/rock music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/midnightlightspa
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/midnightlightspa
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midnightlightspa/
• Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKU0jES_chuJM4sABw7f3ww