Midnight Cattle Callers create a music all their own

It’s the echo of a prairie wind whispering through miles of rusted barbed wire fence; the electric hum of August cicadas perched high in still maples; the forlorn cry of a lone coyote ricocheting off canyon walls…all of these things describe the music of the Midnight Cattle Callers. It’s a sound onto itself, something utterly unique in a world of sound-alike bands.

It is only fitting the group’s first live show was on a New Year’s Eve, a time traditionally associated with new beginnings. The Midnight Cattle Callers arose that night from the ashes of an earlier band, one more mired in “cover” music.

Cattle Callers bass player Seth Sutton describes the decision to strike out in a new direction: “We wanted to focus on writing our own music,” Sutton says. “We wrote three songs that first day, and then wrote a couple more while visiting Luke (Gitchel, MCC guitarist) in Tennessee.”

Sutton’s wife, Dee Sutton, joined the band on vocals, an addition that catapulted the group to the next level. At this year’s “Jammies” Awards Show, sponsored by Grand Rapids radio station WYCE, the Callers received nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year, Producer of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Americana Album, Album of the Year and Listener’s Choice. The band finished in the top five in each category.

“That’s a great success for us,” Sutton says. “It means people dig what we do and that makes us feel really good.”

The Midnight Cattle Callers will be playing the following area venues:
April 12 at Tip Top Deluxe in Grand Rapids

April 21 at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo

April 28 at Zellie’s Opry House in Howard City