The Midnight celebrates the soundtrack to a subculture at the Brooklyn Paramount

Date: April 24, 2026

Venue: Brooklyn Paramount ( New York City)

Tour: Time Machines Tour

“So there was kind of a movement without a soundtrack?“. British television host Jonathan Ross asked New Wave act Spandau Ballet (famous for timeless classics such as “True” and “Gold“) this in an interview back in 2009. This question was in response to the band’s primary songwriter and guitarist Gary Kemp saying that he walked into a club called Billy’s (London) – a venue that attracted the likes of future celebrities such as Boy George (from the pop band Culture Club) and Midge Ure (from Ultravox). This movement had a distinct visual aesthetic and fashion sense but did not have a sonic backdrop that truly belonged to the movement. Gary Kemp went on to say that as part of Spandau Ballet, his goal was to write the musical manifesto for this movement. This feels like a quaint concept in a world wherein many of us have retreated from seeking community in the physical world and have instead opted for community and camaraderie in an online world WHILE the notion of a musical monoculture has started to dissipate at a pace that we can barely comprehend. Yet, against all odds, a little over a decade ago, a musical genre started to evolve from a Reddit subculture called Outrun. It was a community that coalesced around a fascination with the underlying spirit of nostalgia, simplicity, and innocence of sci-fi movies (and their film scores) of yesteryear – more specifically, the 1980s. This community became the foundational element of a genre called Synthwave. The genre unapologetically and recklessly deviates from conventional wisdom as it applies to the path to ubiquity in the modern music industry. Noteworthy examples include a penchant for instrumental tracks and songs with a duration greater than six minutes. The Midnight, one of the most prominent acts of this genre, in particular, has embraced trademark saxophone solos (for context, the saxophone fell out of favor in pop music from the 90s onwards – for reasons I fail to understand). It is tempting to dismiss this genre as being a parody of the 80s but in reality, it is a contemporary reimagining of a past that many of the genre’s fans have not personally experienced firsthand. Is it the seductive lure of a past that has been romanticized by contemporary pop culture? For instance, many critics have credibly suggested that the soundtrack of the hit movie “Drive” (starring Ryan Gosling) and the hit television show “Stranger Things” as being pivotal inflection points that fueled the rise of the genre’s global popularity. Is there also a perception of innocence and simplicity of this bygone era that people want to hold on to as a metaphorical life jacket to help them navigate the chaos, turbulence, confusion and uncertainty of the world we inhabit right now? Culture Club frontman Boy George once told us in an interview that “nostalgia has a shelf life“. This was his way of making the compelling argument for why bands from yesteryear have to move forward by making new music as opposed to flogging their back-catalog on stage ad nauseum. But could the spirit of nostalgia be a much-needed and enduring sanctuary of escapism for the fans of this genre? The Midnight’s durability and concert at Brooklyn Paramount suggests that this could very well be the case.

Watching people of all ages pour into the ornate, newly renovated, and charming Brooklyn Paramount theater was the first indication that the appeal of The Midnight was far broader than I had imagined. Some of the audience members had no clue what the Synthwave movement was thus suggesting that the relevance of the band transcended conventional genre-based boundaries. At least two couples mentioned having discovered The Midnight when these guys were an opening act for a far more established act.

The concert’s opening act was an unlikely synthpop duo (by virtue of their contradicting visual/sartorial aesthetics – Lead singer Harlee Case’s glam factor is in striking contrast to guitarist Josh Smith’s minimalist attire which includes a Beanie) – the Portland (Oregon) based New Constellations. Lead singer Harlee Case had a commandeering presence on stage as she eased through a setlist of up-tempo tracks and closed with the band’s debut single “Hot Blooded”. In addition to a stellar performance, what was particularly striking about their set was Harlee Case sharing a little bit about the band’s genesis, stepping away from music thinking it was a lost cause financially, and getting back into it after a 2-year pause only to find success and FINALLY quitting her day job. I get that there is a “fake it till you make it” attitude in the pop world wherein an image of financial success is created to hopefully fuel a perception of success in the eyes of potential fans. That being said, I think it is healthy for artists to use their platform on stage to shine a spotlight on just how difficult the economics of being a musician are today (a lot of this is due to on-demand streaming from services such as Apple Music and Spotify also being a far less profitable alternative to conventional music ownership). It just might persuade fans to pay for music in ways that do NOT make music a commodity.

I cannot help but mention but in the interval between the opening act performance and The Midnight’s performance, “Love On A Real Train” (a song featured extensively in the 1983 hit movie “Risky Business” – which paved the way for Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise’s first taste of true stardom) by German electronic act Tangerine Dream was being played via the theater’s speaker system. This was a subtle way to set the cultural and stylistic context of what was to follow. I wonder how much of the audience noticed this.

The Midnight opened with stunning neon visuals on a large screen that epitomized the universe they were crafting for the audience for the next 90 minutes. They started off incredibly strong with a swagger and eye-popping stage production value  befitting that of a mainstream act and with songs that have come to define The Midnight’s canon. Noteworthy examples include “Gloria“, “River Of Darkness“, “Los Angeles“, and “Jason” (featuring The New Constellations’ Harlee Case on vocals alongside lead singer Tyler Lyle). The highlights of the show were as follows:

• A rendition of “Heart Worth Breaking” (from their album “Heroes“) that is FAR superior to the studio original because of the use of live drums giving it a more arena-rock feel. Lead singer Tyler Lyle’s vocal delivery also has a lot more grit in this live setting.

• Tyler Lyle makes a heartfelt plea to the audience to believe in the possibility of turnarounds in the face of life-defining adversity using his own personal challenges with Covid and his wife’s tumor (she has recovered and is doing well now) as context as he introduces the song “Comeback Kid” (taken from the album “Endless Summer“). Not only did this give the song more significance but it once again reminded us that our musical heroes do not existing in an alternate universe laced with perfection. They navigate personal hurdles just like we do despite their halo of invincibility on stage.

• Usually, the star of the show is the band’s lead singer and songwriting nucleus – which in the case of The Midnight, is Tyler Lyle but one would have a hard time believing that given that the person on stage that elicited the most dizzying levels of euphoria was saxophonist and resident stage diva Justin Klunk. This is particularly noteworthy given just how much the saxophone fell out of favor in the 90s and beyond in pop music. In fact, pop/rock star Richard Marx refuses to reintroduce the achingly beautiful saxophone solos on his hit single “Endless Summer Nights” when he tours these days. As an audience, did we suddenly develop a propensity for an instrument that has been ritually shunned in pop music for the last 30 years or did music’s most powerful gatekeepers (which in the US was terrestrial radio for the longest time) tacitly coerce us into a viewpoint that we did not truly align with as an audience?

• Tyler Lyle shines a spotlight on Brooklyn being the creative heart and pulse of New York City. It is where bands move to make their dreams come true – especially when operating outside the increasingly limited mainstream that an excessively powerful and small set of kingmakers define. He talked about writing songs that became the foundational bedrock of The Midnight catalog within blocks of Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.

• While touring to promote a new album, it is common for music acts to overdose on that latest album while planning a setlist. Last night’s setlist showcased every chapter of the band’s story.

Despite putting on a dynamite performance, the band did have some missed opportunities. First, given that Harlee Case was a viable (and excellent) option for a female vocal, they should have leveraged her more and had her feature on fan-favorites such as “Light Years” and “Fatal Obsession” (one of the most played songs on our 24/7 online radio broadcast in 2025). The magic in some of these tracks is the contrasting vocal delivery styles between Tyler Lyle and guest female vocalists and leaning into this would have undoubtedly elevated the concert. The second missed opportunity, in my humble opinion, largely stems from what I have believe showcases The Midnight’s pop sensitivities at their best – namely the songs “The Last Train“, “Crystalline” (which would have fit seamlessly in the movie soundtrack for “Risky Business”), and “Land locked Heart“. For me, these songs were conspicuous by their absence.

In what was a predictable, but sensible move, The Midnight’s set closer was the song most people consider the gateway track to the band – namely, “Sunset“. It had the crowd singing entire sections on their own and Justin Klunk’s saxophone solos sounded more glorious than ever.

The Midnight has, against all odds, created a viable path and formula for acts that want to stay authentic, and nurture an audience while being confined to the periphery of the musical mainstream. The band’s survival suggests that their synthwave-meets-conventional-pop sound has NOT run its course and that the possibilities stemming from collaboration across musical heritages and cultural backgrounds (Tyler Lyle is from the rural south with a sonic background steeped in Americana, while producer Tim McKewan is Danish and is one of the defining acts of electronic music) is immense. We wish The Midnight even more success and ubiquity. I can barely wait to see what they do next.

STAR RATING: 5 out of 5 stars