AAA<\/p>\n
Welcome to CityChats<\/a>, where Brisbane Times meets our city\u2019s most interesting characters on our most iconic form of transport. This week, Mid Drift band members Sarah Engstrom, George Swan and Daniel Larsen tell us about turning female rage into fun, floaty, washy tunes, realising they\u2019d spelt midriff wrong, and their dream venues to play.<\/p>\n We meet three of the five band members at North Quay ferry terminal, fresh from their 9-5 jobs. We\u2019ve been fretting about how we\u2019re going to fit six people into frame at peak hour on the ferry, but Rowan Bowyer can\u2019t get a park in the CBD, and John Reid also can\u2019t make it.<\/p>\n The CityCat is indeed busier than usual at 5pm, but not so busy that every seat is taken. Shout out to the woman who got up and moved, leaving a row open, after spotting our concerned scouting.<\/p>\n How did you guys meet?<\/p>\n George: Just through the music scene in Brisbane. It\u2019s so small and tight. Everyone sort of knows everyone. You cross paths eventually.<\/p>\n All of these guys were in a different band, apart from me. And I sort of knew you guys through the grapevine, but hadn\u2019t really met yet. And I just messaged Sarah and I was like, \u201cI need someone to play guitar for. I\u2019m bored. I\u2019m scared and lonely out here\u201d.<\/p>\n Oh, so you had a band before?<\/p>\n Sarah: Yeah. There was four of us in a band before and we kind of split up. And then it just so happened we needed a really good guitarist, and George is a very good guitarist, and it just worked out perfectly.<\/p>\n How did you come up with your band name?<\/p>\n Sarah: After one of the gigs we played, with that band that broke up, there was this girl, this woman, that came up to me in the crowd, and she said to me, \u201coh, you wear those little tops all the time, and you have your belly hanging out, and blah, blah, blah\u201d. Anyway, then it just kind of stuck with me that I actually do wear like little tops all the time.<\/p>\n Then we went through like a billion band names and landed on Mid Drift. Which, apparently, is the actual word for your belly being out after a shirt is …<\/p>\n Daniel: Midriff. But by the time you have a band name that\u2019s not taken, you\u2019re just so stoked that there\u2019s one name left. You don\u2019t change it.<\/p>\n I actually did go back through your Instagram posts trying to see how many midriffs there were. I was like, \u201cIs this a play on midriff?\u201d I\u2019m glad I was right.<\/p>\n Sarah: I\u2019ve grown out of it a little bit.<\/p>\n Daniel: You have more variety now.<\/p>\n Sarah: I do.<\/p>\n I thought it seems like it\u2019s more boy midriff now.<\/p>\n Sarah: Yeah, it is. The boys have been rocking it. They\u2019ve been chopping their shirts. It\u2019s our like pre-show ritual now. All the boys will chop their shirts together.<\/p>\n Related Article George: Every time we get a new shirt, we\u2019ll be like, \u201cWho\u2019s got the scissors?\u201d<\/p>\n What is the coolest venue you\u2019ve ever played?<\/p>\n George: The beach in Adelaide was incredible. I\u2019ll be longing for that forever.<\/p>\n Sarah: Yeah, we played at Glenelg Beach in Adelaide. I think our whole band will say that\u2019s the most amazing. It was right on the beach, the biggest blue sky you\u2019ve ever seen. The crowd was all in the sand. It was really cool.<\/p>\n George: Forum\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n Sarah: Forum in Melbourne.<\/p>\n Do you have a dream venue you\u2019d want to play at?<\/p>\n George: Mine\u2019s Riverstage. Definitely Riverstage for Brisbane. That\u2019s a bucket-list goal. Like \u2018we\u2019ve done it, we\u2019re here\u2019.<\/p>\n Daniel: I think probably Riverstage as well.<\/p>\n Sarah: What\u2019s that Red Rocks place?<\/p>\n Daniel: Oh yeah, Red Rocks in the US. Yeah, that\u2019s beautiful. Weirdly, the Triffid was probably a venue for me that I had [on my list]. You\u2019re in the green room and there are posters of gigs I attended up decorating it. That\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n That was my Brisbane venue. That was the one that I wanted to headline.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the best concert that you\u2019ve seen in Brisbane?<\/p>\n Daniel: Karnivool. They did an anniversary tour for Themata. There\u2019s a bunch of songs there that they have never played, or they\u2019ve played live a handful of times. And to be in the room with like 700 people that, \u2018oh, they\u2019re playing this song that\u2019s special\u2019, and everyone kind of knows that. That was a really, really cool show. That is no surprise to these guys at all.<\/p>\n George: Not even a little bit.<\/p>\n Mine would probably be Yussef Dayes at the Princess Theatre. That was awesome. Beautiful venue. Doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re standing, it just sounds unreal. That was cool. What about you, bro?<\/p>\n Sarah: I\u2019m going to say Full Flower Moon Band at the Princess, which was just … I love her as a frontwoman. She\u2019s so cool, and her performance is amazing.<\/p>\n Speaking of amazing frontwomen, I was going to ask you about your lyrics and how you decide what to write about. One of your songs in particular, for me, it\u2019s very full of female rage.<\/p>\n Sarah: Washed. That one is female rage. I feel like I write these songs and I make them very honest. And I don\u2019t like making up scenarios, which is unfortunate for me because everything that I write about is mostly true. But the good thing is, I write these angry, sad girl songs and I bring them to the boys, and they make them fun and floaty and washy. That\u2019s what the boys are really good at doing; they\u2019re good at turning my terrible sad hardship emotions into something that sounds cool.<\/p>\n I love the difference between the sound and the lyrics. I think the first time I heard it on social media, I thought, \u201cthis is just perfect beach music\u201d, and then I listened to the lyrics and was like, \u201coh, she\u2019s been through it\u201d.<\/p>\n Sarah: I\u2019m so glad. Thank you.<\/p>\n Are there any particular artists you guys draw inspiration from?<\/p>\n George: I think we all pull inspiration from so many different people. Definitely in Australia, it would be Ocean Alley and probably Spacey Jane as well.<\/p>\n Sarah: Tom Misch.<\/p>\n George: Definitely Tom Misch for me.<\/p>\n Dan: Parcels, that would be one. Peach Fur were a nice local band that we saw and played with a lot before Mid Drift was around.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very Aussie sound. It\u2019s a beach sound, which is funny because we\u2019re on a river like an hour from the beach. What do you think it is that inspires that kind of sound in Australia?<\/p>\n Sarah: What I always say \u2013 and the boys have heard me say this a million times \u2013 is that feeling where you\u2019re driving back from the beach, you\u2019re like a little bit sunburnt, the windows are down, you got an hour back from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, and it\u2019s just that feeling. And I feel like the reason we connect with so much of the indie rock kind of music is because it ties in so nicely with saltwater and sun, and nice, flowy, kind of free days, is my take on it.<\/p>\n You basically just described the playlist that I have you guys in: driving back from the beach with the windows down.<\/p>\n Sarah: I love that. That makes me so happy.<\/p>\n Daniel: We can see playlists on Spotify. It\u2019s always just beachy days and driving in a convertible with wind in your hair.<\/p>\n George: Emojis of the sun and waves.<\/p>\n You\u2019re consistent.<\/p>\n Sarah: I love when they\u2019re a bit rogue, though. It\u2019s like, \u201cI just broke up with my boyfriend\u201d, and it\u2019s like so many songs, and I\u2019m like … oop.<\/p>\n George: There are some good ones.<\/p>\n I always forget people can see that. <\/p>\n Sarah: I also forget. I should look into the playlists again.<\/p>\n Mine are sometimes very honest, so I should stop doing that.<\/p>\n Sarah: No, don\u2019t, don\u2019t stop. We like it.<\/p>\n We say goodbye to the band at Felons, staying on until Teneriffe. It normally takes Neesha 20 minutes to get into work from the \u2019riffe. We get there in 45. Dominique concedes maybe this is why people aren\u2019t commuting on the ferry every day. She maintains the view outweighs the lack of convenience. She\u2019ll probably move to Teneriffe soon and eat her words.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Brisbane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19e771801c640e11e8632aebc0581b8150f4fd1e1bebea964745227f150335d7.jpeg\")
Brisbane indie-rock band Mid Drift members Rowan Bowyer, Sarah Engstrom, George Swan, Daniel Larsen and John Reid.Mid Drift<\/p>\n![\"Pub](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ae8e6227c77941f28f496006a019bb32b8d0dfda.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Neesha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3264771dfc97b92e496b72487d935efb0f8a6f49.png\")