LIVE REEL
BIO
MID CITY are punk spirit, indie grit. Music that hits you twice — once in the chest, once in the head.
From Melbourne's inner north, Joel Griffith (vox), Ben Woodmason (guitar), Jimmy Campbell (bass) and Tim Woodmason (drums) joined forces in 2018 with a simple mission: write the songs they'd been searching for but couldn't find. Straight-ahead, high-energy, and impossible not to sing.
It connected immediately. The four-piece scored a top 10 most played spot on Triple J with debut single 'Old Habits', which crossed oceans when German TV personality Ollie Shultz shared the track, sending it into Spotify's Viral Top 50 and the German College Radio Charts. Singles 'Liar Liar', 'Forget It' and 'Choc Mint' each earned BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders' NEXT WAVE endorsement, and their 2023 debut album Happy Ever After cemented what the live circuit already knew — MID CITY deliver.
And deliver they have. From sweaty club shows across Germany, the UK and Australia to main stage performances at Haldern Pop, Taubertal and Obstwiesen festivals, BIGSOUND, an unholy mud bath at The Hills Are Alive and a sundown slot at New Years Eve on the Hill — MID CITY have built a reputation for shows that leave nothing behind.
Then they disappeared.
For the past two years, the band have been holed up in their inner city rehearsal space, writing and recording their second album — Violence. It's a departure and an arrival. Darker, moodier, and more urgent than anything they've made before, Violence explores the internal friction of living in a world that offers everything and demands even more. The hooks are still there — sharper now, and carrying more weight. It’s a record that’s immediate and unguarded — the most honest they’ve ever sounded.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Old Habits reached #9 most played track on triple j, and has hit over 3.5 million streams across all platforms
- Spotify playlist additions: Australian Viral 50 (#35), German Viral 50 (#41), All New Rock, Fidi & Bumsi (GER), Local Noise (AU), Rock Rotation (GER), New Noise (USA), New Music Friday (AU/NZ), Volume (UK), Rock Out, Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds Rock, Fresh Finds (AU/NZ), triple j’s New Music Hitlist & Double J Best New Music
- Apple playlist additions: Best of the Week, Vorgluhen: Rock, Breaking Rock, New Music Daily, The New Rock, The New Rock (AU, NZ and GER) & New in Alternative
- Other playlist additions: New School of Rock (FRA) on Deezer as well as Fresh Rock, Taufrisch: Rock playlist (GER) and Australia Now on Amazon Music
- ‘Old Habits’ reached #25 in the German College Radio charts, with multiple tracks from debut EP added to rotation across 11+ German stations including 917xfm, Flux FM, MDR Jump, as well as freepicks on BR 2 Zündfunk, BR Puls, NDR Info & more
- ‘Liar Liar’ reached #7 of the German College Radio Charts, with ‘Good For It’ being added to rotation at Flux FM in Berlin and 917xfm in Hamburg
- MID CITY were included in the list of BBC Radio 1’s Indie Show with Jack Saunders ‘Favourite Next Waves of 2020’, being featured as a Next Wave Artist in April 2020 with single ‘Liar Liar’, with previous single 'Forget It' also receiving the feature & praise from Jack
- Features/premieres on EARMILK (USA), Fault Mag (UK), Notion Mag (UK), Consequence of Sound (USA), Clash Mag (UK), Tinnitus (CA), The Revue (CA) Some Kind of Awesome (US), Messed Up Mag (GER), Pilerats, Music Feeds, Magnetic Magazine, The Swamp House, Eat This Music, Music Insight, Colosoul Magazine, Pretty Vacant One, Wickedd Child, and POPHRT
- Sold out shows on their 2019 headline tour of Australia and Germany, played Hills Are Alive Festival, NYE On The Hill, main support for Press Club Aus tour and completed a huge 18 date UK/EU tour in Sept/Oct 2019
- Played packed out showcases with queues down the street at Reeperbahn Fesival 2019 and BIGSOUND Festival 2019
- Locked in for Liverpool Sound City & Live At Leeds in the UK in May 2020, as well as Haldern Pop Festival and Obstwiesenfestival in Germany for Summer 2020 (all sadly cancelled due to Covid)
- Sold out Melbourne headline shows on their ‘Wishing For The Best’ EP tour for Feb 2021 & Choc Mint single launch July 2022
- 2021 single Choc Mint added to rotation on Double J radio (AU), Next Wave feature and interview on BBC Radio 1’s Indie Show with Jack Saunders
- 9 date German tour in May 2022 playing Fröhling Festival by Haldern Pop
- Played prime time slots to thousands of punters at 3 German festivals in August 2022 - Haldern Pop, Taubertal & Obstwiesen
- 10 date 2023 European tour including sold out shows in Hamburg & Haldern as well as appearances at Live at Leeds and Kaltern Pop Festivals.
PRESS QUOTES
“One of my favourite discoveries in terms of new bands on this show….a band that could already fill a stadium with that sort of sound"
Jack Saunders
BBC Radio 1 (UK)
"They are a total shot of adrenaline right into your veins…”
Jack Saunders
BBC Radio 1 (UK)
“One of the best bands coming out of Australia right now"
Jack Saunders
BBC Radio 1 (UK)
“As far as I’m concerned I believe Mid City deserve to be in stadiums, they have the sound to do it and we can make it happen for them"
Jack Saunders
BBC Radio 1 (UK)
“So much energy and passion in this track, a huge sound that stands out from the crowd right now”
Nick Findlay
Triple J radio (AU)
“Love the urgency. No holding back here, and it works”
Richard Kingsmill
Triple J radio (AU)
“Moves at a feverish pace and is soaked with earth-shattering soundscapes and hard-hitting percussion.”
Fault Mag (UK)
“An electric and anthemic energy”
Consequence of sound (USA)
8 Songs You Need To Hear
"Crashing onto the music scene with their raucous melodies and infectious rhythms, MID CITY is back... “Good For It” offers soaring vocals against powerful and uplifting fusion of guitars, percussion and harmonies"
Notion (UK)
"Crunching guitar riffs match taut, burning vocals.. It's a surging, spiky indie rock offering, the addictive chorus rushing past in a whirlwind of adrenalin and bravado."
Clash Mag (UK)
“After blowing us away in 2018 with the explosive “Old Habits” and in October with the indie-rock perfection “Liar Liar”, the Melbourne-based quartet once again tear the roof off with “Good For It”. With the exhilarating urgency of The Killers in their prime and the boisterous energy of fellow Aussies Gang of Youths, the song is intended to get people off their keisters and moving. And here’s hoping The Killers bring them along on their next tour.”
The Revue (CA)
“'Wishing For The Best' is a five-track release featuring monstrous, uplifting choruses and melodies and a band at their most furious, most eager. Think Interpol mashed with Franz Ferdinand and modern indie production that screams anthemic music.”
Scenestr (AU)
“It might be 2020 but to Melbourne indie-rockers Mid City it might as well be 2004. The four-piece's second EP Wishing For The Best is a nostalgic trip back to driving guitars, pulsating bass and anthemic vocals, which they manage with aplomb.”
The Newcastle Herald (AU)
“The band you’ve been waiting all year for, MID CITY... These dudes are about to blow out your fucking eardrums in the best possible way... This is some high octane indie rock for fans of bands like The Walkmen or more recently (and incidentally enough, also Australian) Gold Class.”
Some kind of awesome (US)
“The band have stepped forward as a crew that could easily be the next big thing, taking this explosive, punk- infused energy and injecting it with polish and shine that makes them sound like a band years and years into their career..”
Pilerats (AU)
“The band have stepped forward as a crew that could easily be the next big thing, taking this explosive, punk- infused energy and injecting it with polish and shine that makes them sound like a band years and years into their career..”
Pilerats (AU)
“The bull: Mid City. The China Shop: Your unsuspecting ears”
Dave Ruby Howe
Triple J unearthed (AU)
“‘No Surrender’ is a breathless, electrifying scorcher of a track, with frontman Joel Griffith’s powerful vocals carrying the song right through to its final moments.”
Musicfeeds (AU)
“Good For It” carries out this loud dance-like melody that shoots back and forth through the song with hard drum beats intensifying the crowd so they can stay nice, hot, and sweaty on the dancefloor. Not only it’s the best way to keep a crowd with their juices flowing, but the track generates synth-pop sounds that keep this amazing track alive and well, and never need to pull over at a rest stop when this song can keep you awake like ecstasy.”
Get some mag (USA)
“MID CITY create some truly infectious indie rock... they unleashed the power of their debut EP “Die Waiting”, an adrenaline filled indie rock explosion of the anthemic kind that will cause the hords of fans to sing along at gigs”
Messed up magazine (GER)
“We have just seen the future of Rock and it is called Mid City!
Benzine Magazine (FR)
Live Review
LIVE SHOTS
MUSIC
EP 1 - DIE WAITING (2019)
EP 2 - WISHING FOR THE BEST (2020)
ALBUM 1 - HAPPY EVER AFTER (Aug 2023)
CONTACT
MANAGEMENT
contactmidcity@gmail.com
