Festival Action

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There was a time that this humble blog was one of the only places to access English language information about festivals in China. No more!

There is some great and in depth information on the Beijing festivals over at Beijing Gig Guide (Midi | Strawberry) and one of the most comprehensive lineup analyses of any Chinese festival over at GoChengdoo covering the Zebra Festival.

Midi Festival, Beijing

It’s great that all three festivals have the information out to us now (even though the detail on Midi is still light), so that people have a chance to choose their festival based on who will be there, rather than reputation alone. In Beijing, there is also the Pinggu Festival, so choices there will be tough to make. Still, these three festivals are all building on their respective legacies:

  • Midi has yet to settle on real details, but we’ve known for a while that they are bringing us Mr. Big. We’re not sure what is happening with venues and whether or not the Shanghai version will definitely go ahead, but once again, Midi is bringing us the metal.
  • Strawberry Festival has released a lineup that is both broad and extensive. On paper, it covers most bases, with metal bands like Yaksa, trad-rock bands like Hanggai and cult artists like Xie Tianxiao and He Yong. Japan’s Mono are also going to be playing in Tongzhou. For 80RMB/ day, this is definitely a compelling offering
  • Zebra Festival puts forward a range of big pop names and Chinese independent music.

What is interesting is the continuing lack of real international programming at any of these three festivals. This is something that Pinggu is definitely looking to address. As we said, it will be fascinating to see how this works out.

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