An Australian folk band that refused to play to commercial interests, The Middle East came together in 2005 in Townsville by a number of artistically-minded college students including among others lead singer Rohin Jones, guitarist Jordan Ireland, and multi-instrumentalist Bree Tranter. They used many different instruments and specialized in vocal harmonies that gave their very simple folk songs a level of sonic grandeur. They slowly built a following, often playing at major music festivals. Always fearful of being overly commercial, they broke up shortly after the release of their debut EP, 2008’s The Recordings of the Middle East, which included the singles “Darkest Side”, as well as “Blood”, a track that appeared in multiple movies, and when remain one of the band’s most well-known tracks. However, they reconvened a few months later. After some more tours and one more album, 2011’s I Want That You Are Always Happy, the group announced at the 2011 Splendour in the Grass festival that their appearance there would be their final live show. Even though I Want That You Are Always Happy just missed the top 10 and did win the band the prestigious Australian Music Prize, they stayed true to their declaration until 2019 when some of the former members reconstituted the band’s name for two nights at the Sydney Opera House in order to honor the 20th anniversary of the label that released their albums.
