The Midnight Wedding is a name that evokes paradox: dark and light. Death and life. It’s a contrast that feels fitting when defining the identity of this rock worship band. The Nashville-based group offers crunchy guitars and high-octane vocals from husband and wife duo Brandon and Caitlin Trlak, a musical intensity that collides with a worshipful heart. Their debut album “Anthem for the Outcast”, produced by Josiah Prince of Disciple, introduces listeners to the dual themes of darkness and redemptive love that define The Midnight Wedding. From heavy-hitting rockers that dive into the heart of depression and suicidal thoughts to soaring pop worship anthems that carry us out of those valleys, you can expect range and realness from each track.
It’s a dynamic that listeners have already been introduced to with 2019 singles ‘Powerless‘ and ‘Haunted‘. Anthem for the Outcast offers a full 13 songs that expand on The Midnight Wedding’s powerful dichotomies. Brandon heads up the heavy side, influenced by bands like Disciple, Breaking Benjamin, and Shinedown. Those influences are clear on songs like hard-hitter ‘I Swear‘ or the empowering ‘Walk Through Hell‘. The gritty rock element of their sound is matched by some of the personal stories Brandon has to share.
“I struggle with suicidal depression,” Brandon Trlak shares. “These thoughts would invade my mind that I didn’t want. I kept it hidden because I’m a Christian, and Christians aren’t supposed to talk about this, right? And I was driving home from work one day, and I felt God speaking to my heart: ‘Brandon, if you don’t talk about this, it’s going to kill you.’”
That conversation in prayer would lead to Brandon sharing what he was going through with Caitlin, and later bringing it into a writing session with Josiah Prince. The result is the brutally honest song ‘Kill Me‘. Ultimately, Brandon hopes that listeners hear it as a cry of solidarity, and as an invitation: “It’s a heart cry out to God, saying I need Your help, I need Your salvation, I need Your love. It’s also a song that we want people who are struggling with these things to listen to and know ‘I can talk about this. I can reach out for help.’”
You can expect to hear that level of honesty throughout the record, since reaching the often-unreached is a core motivator for The Midnight Wedding. “Every person has dealt with rejection. Every person has dealt with being outcast. Every person has dealt with being sad at some point in their life. This album is for us to channel that, but we also want to be able to reach those people so they understand that they’re not alone,” Brandon explains.
That message of hope is a key part of where Caitlin’s influence comes in as well, as she brings her pop/worship background to the writing room. “We poured so much emotion into this album. A lot of it wouldn’t be something you could usually go to church and talk about,” Caitlin says. That approach led to writing a worship song with the unexpected title ‘Unbelief‘. “One of the things that I deal with is I doubt a ton. I can feel like there’s no hope. This song says ‘God, can You help me? Can You help me get rid of this unbelief, help me fight through it?”
‘Set Me Free‘ is another song that brings a soaring worshipful heart into the midst of our daily struggles. For this track, Brandon and Caitlin enlisted the help of Dawn Michele (Fireflight). That’s not the only guest appearance on Anthem for the Outcast: Kevin Young of Disciple appears as well, lending his voice to the song ‘Enforcers‘, which deals with religious elitism.
“The problem is that the church has lost the line between judgment and condemnation,” Brandon explains. “It’s one thing to say something is wrong. It’s completely different to cast people out and condemn them– we have to stay away from that.”
The different perspectives that Brandon and Caitlin bring to the table also result in both musicians being challenged to expand their musical comfort zone. ‘Landslide‘ is a prime example, written and led by Caitlin and offering a ferocity reminiscent of Halestorm. Brandon says that their “universes collided and blended together,” a synergy that producer Josiah Prince expertly honed and refined. The Trlak’s personal history uniquely equipped them to be coming into their own on this album.
The couple has made rock music together for years, playing in a band that would ultimately dissolve– but set the stage for The Midnight Wedding in the process. Their musical trajectory began in 2012 after Brandon found himself at an intense personal low. “I was driving down the road, listening to music. I was struggling with a lot of anxiety, depression, fear and worry inside myself,” he remembers. “The song ‘Invisible’ by Disciple came on the radio.”
“I had felt at that time that maybe I was impossible: I was the person God couldn’t reach. I was the person God couldn’t forgive. And that’s when that song came on. I started pouring myself out, crying in the car, asking God for forgiveness, saying “I’m ready to come back.” I got home, told Caitlin ‘hey, I feel like it’s time for us to get back into music.’”
As divine fate would have it, the Trlaks would write with Matt Arcaini– who was also working with Disciple at the time. When Brandon and Caitlin needed fill-in players for a show, Matt connected them with Josiah Prince and Joey West from Disciple. It was only at the concert that Brandon realized he was playing with members of the same band that God had used to change the course of his life.
2018 brought the Trlaks to another crossroads, with their band dissolving and Brandon facing the diagnosis of a chronic, incurable illness. In the midst of turmoil, both singers felt that the next season wasn’t just about being in a rock band: it needed to be rooted in a worshipful heart. That would mean letting Caitlin step into her own as a co-leader of the band, offering both her vocals and her musical background. They chose a name that captured that duality, inspired by the parable of the bridegroom arriving at midnight as told in Matthew 25.
The connection with Josiah Prince became a natural collaborative fit, and Josiah would end up co-writing each track on what would become the band’s first album. “Josiah has really brought out a lot of emotion and passion,” Brandon shares. “I had gotten so rigid, but Josiah is a creative force.”
Every step of the process has prepared The Midnight Wedding to speak the truth of God’s love into the lives of those who are hurting– whether those people are inside or outside of the church’s walls. “I want them to know that you can fight. There is a fight in you to fight for your life, to fight to find Jesus as well,” Caitlin encourages.
“It comes down to the fact that Jesus would leave the ninety-nine to find the one,” Brandon concludes. “If you’ve been rejected, if you’ve been outcast if you feel hopeless and like your faith is shattered, Jesus is looking for you. He’s not back with the big crowd pretending everything’s OK. He’s literally looking for you who are broken. And that’s our goal and our mission too: we want people to walk away feeling loved, feeling belonging, that they were created for a purpose and a reason. There is hope.”
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