MELBOURNE / NAARM

LIVE REEL

BIO

MID CITY churn incendiary indie anthems, microwave-ready for a mainstage sing-along. Describe them in 3 words? Hooks, hooks and hooks.

Ben Woodmason (guitar) found Joel Griffith (vox) from a post looking for the “greatest showman alive”...in Collingwood. With Ben's brother Tim (drums) and good buddy Jimmy Campbell (bass), they set about writing what they'd all wanted to hear but couldn't find: Straight-ahead tunes with energy and relatability. Songs that would connect with an audience looking to love guitar music again.

And it's worked. Straight off the bat, the 4-piece secured a number of high profile placements across their home turf with 'Old Habits' reaching #9 most played track on Triple J radio during 2019. The song also kicked up a fuss in Germany when TV/podcast star Ollie Shultz shared the track, leading the song to hit the Spotify's Viral top 50 and College Radio Charts in Germany. Follow up singles 'Liar Liar', 'Forget It' and 2022's 'Choc Mint' also all scored BBC1's Jack Saunders' coveted NEXT WAVE endorsement.

With an impressive live reputation already brewing, the group quickly took off for stages across the globe, slaying sweaty club shows across Germany, the UK and Australia including packed out shows at BIGSOUND, Reeperbahn Festival, an unholy mud fest of a show at The Hills Are Alive Festival and a main stage sundown slot at New Years Eve on the Hill.

Millions of streams later, MID CITY aren't about to slow down. With the world still crawling back into life, MID CITY is already back in full swing with two barnstorming tours of Europe in '22 under their belts including electric mainstage performances at Haldern Pop, Taubertal and Obstwiesen festivals as well as packing out their first ever French show in Paris.

Now with the fresh new cut 'Emily' in hand ahead of their long awaited debut album 'Happy Ever After' landing Aug 25, MID CITY are primed to bring rock back to the heaving masses. With this insane energy and choruses for days, MID CITY might just be exactly what the live music world needs right now.

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 (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 and The New Rock (AU, NZ and GER)
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

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 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