Culture
Gladden House Sessions 2018: Middle Kids
By: Jacob Morgan
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The Australian band Middle Kids played at the Gladden House on June 1, the second day of the Nelsonville Music Festival. Despite it being a rainy afternoon, they drew in a large crowd of people who didn’t mind getting wet. Hannah Joy’s seemingly effortless vocals, combined with Tim Fitz’s driving basslines and Harry Day’s lively beats on the snare inspired passion throughout the audience. From their first notes, the trio had people throughout the crowd tapping their toes and bobbing their heads.
Before the show, lead singer Hannah Joy talked about their sudden rise to fame. She said it all happened so fast, that one day they were playing small shows in Australia and the next, they were performing on Conan in front of millions of people. Since then, they have embarked on sold-out tours across Australia and the United States, as well as performed at large festivals including South by Southwest and Lollapalooza in 2017.
They started off their set with “Mistake,” one of the songs off their new album Lost Friends, released earlier this year by Domino Recording Co., which turned out to be very fitting. The chorus of the song starts with the line “Standing out in the rain tonight,” which made the audience laugh. They followed it up by playing “Don’t Be Hiding,” and “On My Knees,” both songs off of their new album. The usually upbeat rock song “On My Knees,” was mellowed out for this performance, giving the piece a completely different feel, perfect for the atmosphere of the Gladden House.