After Suzhou Strawberry was abruptly canceled last week, and the sudden cracking down on foreign artists (see the comment from Mike Weed re, ChongQing), we expected this festival weekend to be a difficult one. After day one, we can so far report that
- all international bands (including the expat-ish bands out of Shanghai Boys Climbing Ropes and the Fever Machine) have been banned from playing Nanjing’s Blossom Music Festival. Quoting from someone there
- fun in Nanjing: k-holes, typhoons and censorship
- From another source at the Pinggu Festival in Beijing, apparently the organizers were told late yesterday that no alcohol was allowed to be sold on site.
We’re sure there will be many more twists in the tale over the next couple of days, but initial signs aren’t very promising.