ABC/Image Group LAMidland performed a spirited cover of “East Bound and Down” last night during the CMA Awards. Following their appearance, the band has made the song available for purchase.
“‘East Bound and Down’ is a balls to the wall, honky tonk, fast tempo tornado of a song that was a great challenge to master and to make some tweaks to make it our own,” the band shares in a statement. “It’s now one of our favorite songs to perform live and we can only hope that The Guitar Man is smiling somewhere up above with approval.”
The Guitar Man reference is, of course, a nod to the late Jerry Reed, who scored a top-five hit with the original “East Bound and Down” in 1977 from the classic film Smokey and the Bandit, which starred both Jerry and Burt Reynolds.
Midland’s rollicking interpretation of “East Bound and Down” is out now.
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