Today we’d like to introduce you to Midwest Avenue.
Hi Midwest Avenue, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The band compromised of all family members which may be a rarity in today’s music landscape: Scott Joseph Phares (Vocals/Guitar), Steven Dale Vincent (Vocals/Fiddle/Banjo/Keys), and Scott R. Phares (Drums). The relation goes as follows: Scott Joseph Phares is the son of Scott R. Phares. Steven Dale Vincent is the second cousin of Scott R. Phares (third cousin of Scott Joseph Phares).
Kicked off in 2009 with an Armed Forces Entertainment Tour to Honduras (Soto Cano Airbase) and the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia for the 4th of July Celebration. From there when we returned home we began working on writing our own material as well as learning cover songs. Throughout 2010-2014 we played hundreds of shows throughout the Midwest region, in that time we won the Texaco Country Showdown, released our first EP (Red Wine). In 2015 & 2016 nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the Nashville Universe Awards. We took a brief hiatus to focus on life and as well as song personal music projects.
Regrouping in 2019 we hit the ground running continuing playing shows in the region again and releasing multiple singles and putting on our first annual Christmas Special which we will continue annually. In 2022, we are ramping up our social media presence as well as launching multiple weekly series and a new podcast. Later this year we are releasing two Christmas singles before our 2nd Annual Christmas Special! Continuing on in 2022 we will be releasing a new album with some singles sprinkled in there as well!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We thought it would be after our debut show in our hometown we played to a completely packed house, thinking it would be like that every show ended up not being the case.
In this industry, it can be mentally challenging when you go to a different city and have the unfortunate experience of playing to a few people which we quickly learned even if there are only a few people at your show, you must continue to give your all as if you’re playing to 1,000. Over the years of having experiences like that here and there, we have taken those few people and turned them into lifelong fans/friends of ours.
We have been able to build a great community around our music through the years through the struggles of not drawing a huge crowd, we’ve even stayed after shows and played acoustic at a table with the group that happened to show up and hang out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of the aspects that sets us apart is the fact we are essentially a country music family band. We are most proud of our live show and original songs.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
One of the big things that has helped us is after each show we make sure to personally go up to each person that came to thank them for coming and have a little conversation.
We’ve gained a lot of good friends that have continued to support us through that, plus you never know who’s out in the crowd, it could be someone that could help you out potentially unless you go say hi.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.mwaband.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwestavenue
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/midwestavenue
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/midwestavenue
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/midwestavenue
