Now Is the Perfect Time to Attend Music Festivals in Taiwan
Words by Chen Kuan Heng (executive editor of Blow Music)
The Birth of the Music Festivals in Taiwan
In August, 1987, one month after the abolishment of martial law in Taiwan, independent label Crystal Records held the Taipei New Music Festival (台北新音樂節). The festival promoted local original alternative music, and was seen as the first music festival that’s ever held in Taiwan. As the society became more liberated as time went by, the development of alternative music accelerated as well. In 1995, two important music festivals were established in Taiwan. In the south, two foreign musicians who dwelled in Taiwan called Jimi Moe and Wade Davis together held a music festival called the Spring Scream (春天吶喊) in Kenting, Pingtung. In Taipei, the first ever Formoz Festival (野台開唱) was held in the same year.
Music festivals in Taiwan started to have a more modern shape ever since, and the events have also built close and symbiotic relationships with Taiwanese band culture. Among all the festivals, Formoz Festival is the one that got more and more popular and even developed to the most important international music festival in Taiwan. Artists that had been invited to perform at Formoz Festival include famous western artists and bands such as Moby, The xx, Yo La Tengo. It’s a shame that the festival discontinued in 2013, leaving the industry a music legacy.
Spring Scream and Formoz Festival were the pioneers of the music festivals in Taiwan. They not only provided platforms for alternative music, but also built a culture of attending outdoor music festivals. Their achievements had visualized the imagination of many promoters that joined later. The general elements of an outdoor music festival include: a more than 2-day event for gigs, multiple stages, numerous performers and alcohol stands. Like a standard, many promoters joined later all see these elements as the structure for their own festivals. Then, they would adjust some minor parts in accordance with the venues they booked, the themes of the shows and the headliners they invite to show their own characteristics.
Music Festivals Become Accelerators for Alternative Music
We mentioned before that there is a close and symbiotic bond between Taiwan’s music festivals and Taiwanese band culture. In the past, live houses and bars were the only few venues for bands to perform. With the stages music festivals provide, alternative bands didn’t have to remain underground anymore. Music festivals have definitely created many new platforms for numerous bands to get more audience and even become famous. Promoters were also intentionally trying to bring more diversified and original music to the table for the audience.
For instance, in 2000, Taipei County Government (currently the New Taipei City Government) and Taiwan Colors Music (角頭音樂) together held the Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival (貢寮國際海洋音樂祭) at Fulong Beach. The festival not only features music performances, it has also set an evaluation competition since the second year. Through the band competition, the festival will present the highest honor “Ocean Prize” to a selected band, and “Jury Prize” to another band, creating a mania in the world of indie music bands. 88 balaz (八十八顆芭樂籽), a punk band, Tizzy Bac, a 3-piece (keyboard, bass and drums, no guitar) rock band and Totem (圖騰樂團), the rock band that formed fully with urban indigenous people had all gained more attention through the festival and the competition.
Besides being an accelerator for music, Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival is also one of the very few festivals that can attract general public to attend. The reason behind the fact is that the tickets are free of charge, and the location is close to the sea. This way, though the general public doesn’t know much about indie music, they’d still like to hang out at the beach during vacation time. With a crowd gathering at Fulong Beach every year, the festival has definitely become a huge summer event in northern Taiwan.
The Localization of Music Festivals
After 2000, through the direct presidential election, Taiwan experienced its first political party alternation. The discussion on political issues had become more and more liberated, and the issue of “localization” had also became a hot topic. Under the political influences, the music festivals in Taiwan started to have a clearer intention on being more localized, instead of just copying what western music festivals had. Take Megaport Festival (大港開唱), the one that was held in Kaohsiung in 2006, and Taiwanese Rock Carnival (台客搖滾嘉年華) for instance, both festivals had strategically built the “native and local” images for their events. Bands and musicians that had performed at the former one included ChthoniC (閃靈), a Hokkien metal band; LTK Commune (濁水溪公社), a grassroots rock band and action art group; and Fire Ex. (滅火器), a punk band originated in Kaohsiung. Those who had performed at the latter one included Bobby Chen (陳昇), a famous singer; Wu Bai (伍佰), the new Hokkien and rock pioneer and Machi (麻吉), a hip hop group.
The schedule flyer of the 2006 Taiwanese Rock Carnival, designed with a typical Taiwanese style. (Photo via Streetvoice)
However, these two festivals didn’t last long, they discontinued after the second and the third year. The host of Taiwanese Rock Carnival saw the rising wave of Taiwanese urban folk music, so it decided to change its direction and hosted a new music festival called Simple Life (簡單生活節). The past performers of Simple Life music festival included not only many uprising indie artists, but also pop singer-songwriters like Lala Hsu (徐佳瑩) and Weibird (韋禮安). The festival also featured delicate creative crafts market, drawing thousands of people to come have fun. Originally held in Taipei, Simple life has even expanded their events to Taichung and Shanghai for the past few years.
Comparing to Simple Life festival that’s held in northern Taiwan, Megaport was mainly held in southern Taiwan. Magaport once went on hiatus and relaunched in 2010, and had been held for another 3 years until it went on another hiatus again in 2014. Ever since 2015, when Megaport made their second come back, the tickets to the festival sold out every year, making them the most powerful festival in Southern Taiwan. The promoting team of Megaport has a unique sense of humor and they would use “the goddess of Megaport” as a title to invite some female artists that general audience wouldn’t expect to see in music festivals such as Jeannie Hsieh (謝金燕), Cyndi Wang (王心凌), Yuki Hsu (徐懷鈺) and Japanese pop idol Noriko Sakai (酒井法子). The team had also invited some rather irrelevant senior artists such as He Yi Hang (賀一航) and Shen Wen Cheng (沈文程) to collaborate with indie bands on the festival’s finale performance before.
The Flourishing Music Festival Scenes
Spring Scream and Megaport are held in spring; Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival is held in summer, and Simple Life is held in winter. It seems that Taiwan has become an island where you can attend music festivals anytime in a year. What’s better, the festivals we mentioned above are only a few on the list. We haven’t mentioned the middle and small size music festivals that have flourished in Taiwan throughout the past few years.
The sales of physical records have decreased, making the industry shift its focus to live performances. Hence, holding music festivals has become a trend, making festivals of all sizes flourish the entire island. Lately, it is highly possible for a person to hold a music festival, as long as he is willing to put effort into finding capital, acquiring festival promoting knowledge and building connections.
Looking back on the music festivals held in Taiwan for the past few years, it is really hard to use a single form or genre to classify all of them. In this rather liberated society, you can find festivals with strong and intense political standpoints such as Gong Sheng Music Festival (共生音樂節) and Inland Rock (內地搖滾); festivals that are held based on the closeness of neighborhood communities such as Small Oyster Rock (蚵寮漁村小搖滾) and Amis Music Festival (阿米斯音樂節); festivals that visualize local culture such as Rock Bandoh (搖滾辦桌) and Taiwan Color Stage Fest (金光舞台車閃閃嘉年華), and festivals that are held by musicians themselves such as B Festival, FireBall Fest (火球祭), A Rockable Day (一日搖滾).
Small Oyster Rock used a fishing boat as a part of the stage in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Small Oyster Rock)
Record companies, labels and record stores are all starting to hold music festivals by themselves as well. For instance, B’in Music (相信音樂) holds the Super Slipper (超犀利趴) festival, Wind Music (風潮音樂) holds the World Music Festival @ Taiwan (世界音樂節@台灣), and White Wabbit Records (小白兔唱片行) holds the P Festival (鋼琴音樂節). Migration Music Festival (流浪之歌音樂節), the festival Trees Music & Art (大大樹音樂圖像) has held since 2001 is insisting on bringing the audience unique world music. AGoodDay Lian-Lian-Kan Festival (風和日麗連連看), the very significant branding event for A Good Day Records (風和日麗唱片行), has turned to a two-day music festival in Sep, 2017. Even film festival like Urban Nomad (城市遊牧影展) had held a two-day outdoor music festival called Opening Freakout (怪奇音樂祭) at Wei Yuan Hu Shan (微遠虎山) as well. Many college students have held numerous music festivals on campus by themselves one after another as well.
Music Festival as a Part of Taiwanese’s Daily Life
Affected by the demassification in the digital age, festivals of all sizes get to find their target audience through basic internet marketing. Some festivals are project based, and will discontinue once the projects are done; however, some festivals will try to sort out their own business models. One successful case is the Wake Up Festival (覺醒音樂節) held in Chiayi. Wake Up Festival was once just a self-held music festival by a group of high school popular music club members, and now, the tickets to the event sold out every year, becoming the most popular festival outside of special municipalities. Some critics consider the success of the festival has a lot to do with internet promotion.
Summer is the most flourished season for music festivals in Taiwan. During the popular months, you’d be able to find music festivals to attend every weekend. Going out and having fun at music festivals have become a part of the lives of urban city dwellers. In the past, due to the negative coverage from the mainstream media, Taiwanese society had once had misunderstanding toward music festivals. The media partially portrayed music festivals as the parties that contained drugs, alcohol and noises. The good news is that the concept is no longer deeply rooted in the public’s mind, because there is a great amount of clear information of music festivals you can find online, more and more musicians and fans are traveling abroad to attend festivals and exchange ideas with people from around the world, and the government and enterprises are now pretty supportive toward those who want to attend and hold music festivals.
Now and the next few years is definitely the perfect time for one to find a music festival in Taiwan to join and have fun, for the number and quality of festivals in Taiwan are both above standard, and the society has become more supportive toward this kind of events.
Wake Up Festival was established in 2009 by a group of senior high students with very limited resources. Now it has evolved into one of the biggest music festivals in Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of Wake Up Festival)
Simple Life was first held at Hua Shan 1914 in December, 2006. The music festival combines music with fresh lifestyle, featuring not only music performances but also hundreds of stands of unique lifestyle brands. The past performers of the festival included local artists like Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), Sodagreen (蘇打綠) and international big headliners such as John Cale and Jarvis Cocker.
Every time, Simple Life will create a simple slogan for the festival to symbolize the core value of the year. For instance, the slogan for the first year of the festival was “Do what you like, and make it valuable”, which in the end became a very memorable one to the participants. For the past few years, Simple Life has become more and more popular that the host even expanded the festival to Shanghai and Taichung. The brand celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2016, and has transformed the festival into “a Simple Day”, hoping to pick up the simple, wonderful and exquisite elements the brand had at the very beginning.
(Photo courtesy of Simple Life)
Simple Life (簡單生活節)
Simple Life was first held at Hua Shan 1914 in December, 2006. The music festival combines music with fresh lifestyle, featuring not only music performances but also hundreds of stands of unique lifestyle brands. The past performers of the festival included local artists like Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), Sodagreen (蘇打綠) and international big headliners such as John Cale and Jarvis Cocker.
Every time, Simple Life will create a simple slogan for the festival to symbolize the core value of the year. For instance, the slogan for the first year of the festival was “Do what you like, and make it valuable”, which in the end became a very memorable one to the participants. For the past few years, Simple Life has become more and more popular that the host even expanded the festival to Shanghai and Taichung. The brand celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2016, and has transformed the festival into “a Simple Day”, hoping to pick up the simple, wonderful and exquisite elements the brand had at the very beginning.
Spring Scream is the longest running music festivals in the history of Taiwan, and it is also the most important one that takes place every spring in Kenting. Founded by Jimi and Wade, two foreign musicians living in Taiwan, the festival was first held in Kenting in 1995. At first, they held the festival only because they wanted to invite their fellow bands to play along, and there were only dozens of performing bands. However, the scale of the festival has become larger and larger lately, with over two hundreds of bands performing during the event.
The main topic of Spring Scream is related to Chinese Zodiac. The festival had changed its venue a few times before settling at Kenting Erluanbi Lighthouse Park (墾丁鵝鑾鼻燈塔公園) in 2010. The park is a large grassland surrounded by a forest. The invited performers got to explore the park and enjoy music of other bands after their performances. At Spring Scream, it’s easy for you to get along with indie bands from around the world naturally, experiencing the most genuine atmosphere of a music festival.
(Photo by A-Ren, courtesy of Spring Scream)
Spring Scream (春天吶喊)
Spring Scream is the longest running music festivals in the history of Taiwan, and it is also the most important one that takes place every spring in Kenting. Founded by Jimi and Wade, two foreign musicians living in Taiwan, the festival was first held in Kenting in 1995. At first, they held the festival only because they wanted to invite their fellow bands to play along, and there were only dozens of performing bands. However, the scale of the festival has become larger and larger lately, with over two hundreds of bands performing during the event.
The main topic of Spring Scream is related to Chinese Zodiac. The festival had changed its venue a few times before settling at Kenting Erluanbi Lighthouse Park (墾丁鵝鑾鼻燈塔公園) in 2010. The park is a large grassland surrounded by a forest. The invited performers got to explore the park and enjoy music of other bands after their performances. At Spring Scream, it’s easy for you to get along with indie bands from around the world naturally, experiencing the most genuine atmosphere of a music festival.
In 2000, Taiwan Colors Music and Taipei Country Government together created a festival at the Fulong Beach, which is now known as Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival. Nowadays, it has become a ritual for people to cross the Rainbow Bridge at Fulong Beach to head to the main stage and to savor a famous Fulong lunchbox (福隆便當) on the train leaving the oceanic festival. Some audience would lie down in the sand holes they dig while enjoying music and some would walk on sea waves to relax.
Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival has moved indie music scene to a more profound level through the “Ocean Prize” competition. The past final winners of the competition such as 88 Balaz, Tizzy Bac, MATZKA, Queen Suitcase (皇后皮箱) have all become very influential indie bands. Ocean Fever (海洋熱), the documentary directed by Amis director Lungnan Isak Fangas (陳龍男), recorded the process of young Taiwanese bands participating in the “Ocean Prize” competition in 2003. The film features the bittersweet experience the bands had had from the audition to the finals.
(Photo courtesy of Tourism & Travel Department of New Taipei City Government)
Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival (貢寮國際海洋音樂祭)
In 2000, Taiwan Colors Music and Taipei Country Government together created a festival at the Fulong Beach, which is now known as Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival. Nowadays, it has become a ritual for people to cross the Rainbow Bridge at Fulong Beach to head to the main stage and to savor a famous Fulong lunchbox (福隆便當) on the train leaving the oceanic festival. Some audience would lie down in the sand holes they dig while enjoying music and some would walk on sea waves to relax.
Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival has moved indie music scene to a more profound level through the “Ocean Prize” competition. The past final winners of the competition such as 88 Balaz, Tizzy Bac, MATZKA, Queen Suitcase (皇后皮箱) have all become very influential indie bands. Ocean Fever (海洋熱), the documentary directed by Amis director Lungnan Isak Fangas (陳龍男), recorded the process of young Taiwanese bands participating in the “Ocean Prize” competition in 2003. The film features the bittersweet experience the bands had had from the audition to the finals.
(Photo courtesy of Tourism & Travel Department of New Taipei City Government)
Held at the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, Megaport Festival is the most famous music festival in the city. In 2015, the once discontinued festival relaunched its 7th annual event, drawing thousands of fans to participate. Ever since the relaunch, the tickets to the festival sold out every year. The main spirits of the festival are vigorousness and roughness. The performers are mostly the bands originated from southern Taiwan such as Fire Ex., Sun of Morning (晨曦光廊) and LTK Commune, which are good at delivering shows in a locally authentic way. The names of the stages such as Goddess Dragon (女神龍), Surging Waves (海波浪), Big Figure in the South (南霸天) also carry the spirit of Taiwanese local culture.
Megaport has also invited artists who’ve been through low times but are trying to make a comeback again to come perform at the festival. For instance, it had once invited Yuki Hsu, Jeannie Hsieh and Hong Kong singer-songwriter Denise Ho (何韻詩) to be titled the highly expected “Magaport Goddess”. It had also invited some rather irrelevant senior artists to come collaborate with indie bands. From these previous cases, you can tell how wild and unique is the imagination of the festival host.
(Photo courtesy of Megaport Festival)
Megaport Festival (大港開唱)
Held at the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, Megaport Festival is the most famous music festival in the city. In 2015, the once discontinued festival relaunched its 7th annual event, drawing thousands of fans to participate. Ever since the relaunch, the tickets to the festival sold out every year. The main spirits of the festival are vigorousness and roughness. The performers are mostly the bands originated from southern Taiwan such as Fire Ex., Sun of Morning (晨曦光廊) and LTK Commune, which are good at delivering shows in a locally authentic way. The names of the stages such as Goddess Dragon (女神龍), Surging Waves (海波浪), Big Figure in the South (南霸天) also carry the spirit of Taiwanese local culture.
Megaport has also invited artists who’ve been through low times but are trying to make a comeback again to come perform at the festival. For instance, it had once invited Yuki Hsu, Jeannie Hsieh and Hong Kong singer-songwriter Denise Ho (何韻詩) to be titled the highly expected “Magaport Goddess”. It had also invited some rather irrelevant senior artists to come collaborate with indie bands. From these previous cases, you can tell how wild and unique is the imagination of the festival host.
While EDM party has surged a wave around the world, festival brands like Road to Ultra, Tomorrowland and Arcadia have all entered Taiwan’s market one after another. Local promoters also started to hold original huge electronic music festivals as well. In 2017, a new local electronic festival called Lootopia Music Festival was held.
TheLOOP, the promoter of Looptopia Music Festival, actually has been importing electronic music culture for a long time and it also has 15 years of experiences in holding party events. The location of the festival was at Weichuan Ranch (味全埔心牧場) in Taoyuan. You can tell the promoter’s ambition by the scale of the event. Besides 3 major radiant DJ stages, the promoter even figured out ways to invite international well-known DJs such as Martin Garrix and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. The 2-day festival takes place in April annually and is hoped to become a famous electronic festival in Asia that will attract fans from around the world to come join.
(Photo courtesy of Looptopia Music Festival)
Looptopia Music Festival (樂托邦國際音樂節)
While EDM party has surged a wave around the world, festival brands like Road to Ultra, Tomorrowland and Arcadia have all entered Taiwan’s market one after another. Local promoters also started to hold original huge electronic music festivals as well. In 2017, a new local electronic festival called Lootopia Music Festival was held.
TheLOOP, the promoter of Looptopia Music Festival, actually has been importing electronic music culture for a long time and it also has 15 years of experiences in holding party events. The location of the festival was at Weichuan Ranch (味全埔心牧場) in Taoyuan. You can tell the promoter’s ambition by the scale of the event. Besides 3 major radiant DJ stages, the promoter even figured out ways to invite international well-known DJs such as Martin Garrix and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. The 2-day festival takes place in April annually and is hoped to become a famous electronic festival in Asia that will attract fans from around the world to come join.
First held and produced by Trees Music & Art in 2001, Migration Music Festival is one of the very few festivals in Taiwan that focuses on folk, grass roots music and contemporary issues. The musicians it has invited are mostly powerful singer-songwriters from around the world. The events of the festival not only feature music from the UK and US, but also the ones from Eastern Europe, Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Mongolia and Okinawa.
The performance form of Migration Music Festival is rather flexible. It had been held as a small indoor performance once, and had been held as a middle size music festival at the rehearsal room of Cloud Gate in Tamsui before as well. It features a new topic every year, allowing musicians to have a more profound conversation with fellow musicians and different musical instruments. This kind of event arrangement actually has inspired some Taiwanese artists before, and Lin Sheng Xiang (林生祥) is one of them. Being inspired by Okinawan Sanshin master Takashi Hirayasu, Lin made an album called Planting Trees and started a long term partnership with Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake.
(Photo courtesy of Migration Music Festival)
Migration Music Festival (流浪之歌音樂節)
First held and produced by Trees Music & Art in 2001, Migration Music Festival is one of the very few festivals in Taiwan that focuses on folk, grass roots music and contemporary issues. The musicians it has invited are mostly powerful singer-songwriters from around the world. The events of the festival not only feature music from the UK and US, but also the ones from Eastern Europe, Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Mongolia and Okinawa.
The performance form of Migration Music Festival is rather flexible. It had been held as a small indoor performance once, and had been held as a middle size music festival at the rehearsal room of Cloud Gate in Tamsui before as well. It features a new topic every year, allowing musicians to have a more profound conversation with fellow musicians and different musical instruments. This kind of event arrangement actually has inspired some Taiwanese artists before, and Lin Sheng Xiang (林生祥) is one of them. Being inspired by Okinawan Sanshin master Takashi Hirayasu, Lin made an album called Planting Trees and started a long term partnership with Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake.
Held by White Wabbit Records, P Festival stands for “Piano Festival”, meaning the leading role of the festival is piano. However, the performers they invited were not the traditional and classical pianists. Most of them composed contemporary music. The music instruments they use are not limited to regular piano. They had used the predecessors of modern piano including the harpsichord and clavichord. Contemporary pianos such as electric piano, digital piano and prepared piano had all been the instruments they used before.
Held since 2014, P Festival had invited several symbolic musicians, including Rachel Grimes, Balmorhea, and Nils Frahm. The festival has now been held for 3 years, the gig dates were mostly set around October and the chosen venues were mostly the ones with isolated and quiet space that allow the audience to dive deep into the change of sound such as Zhongshan Hall (中山堂) and Ya Sung Fang Music Hall at National Taiwan University Art Center (台大藝文中心雅頌坊). P Festival is certainly one of the very unique festivals in Taiwan.
(Photo courtesy of White Wabbit Records)
P Festival (鋼琴音樂節)
Held by White Wabbit Records, P Festival stands for “Piano Festival”, meaning the leading role of the festival is piano. However, the performers they invited were not the traditional and classical pianists. Most of them composed contemporary music. The music instruments they use are not limited to regular piano. They had used the predecessors of modern piano including the harpsichord and clavichord. Contemporary pianos such as electric piano, digital piano and prepared piano had all been the instruments they used before.
Held since 2014, P Festival had invited several symbolic musicians, including Rachel Grimes, Balmorhea, and Nils Frahm. The festival has now been held for 3 years, the gig dates were mostly set around October and the chosen venues were mostly the ones with isolated and quiet space that allow the audience to dive deep into the change of sound such as Zhongshan Hall (中山堂) and Ya Sung Fang Music Hall at National Taiwan University Art Center (台大藝文中心雅頌坊). P Festival is certainly one of the very unique festivals in Taiwan.
Founded by Amis singer-songwriter Suming (舒米恩) and produced by the entire Etolan tribe, Amis Music Festival is an annual music event that takes place at Dulan Junior High School in November. The artists living on the east coast and residents of Etolan tribe will deliver performances for the entire show. There is no fixed form for the performances featuring in the festival. You can enjoy performances such as contemporary dance, music from rock bands and folk singers, dramas and even choir singing. The main purpose of the festival is to let the participants experience the beauty of Etolan. During the festival, the residents of Etolan tribe will dressed up with their Amis tribal costume to sing and dance as a kind of celebration and also put some stands near the playground. So if you would like to experience Taiwanese indigenous culture through music festival, you must go participate the Amis Music Festival in Etolan tribe in Taitung.
(Photo courtesy of Amis Music Festival)
Amis Music Festival (阿米斯音樂節)
Founded by Amis singer-songwriter Suming (舒米恩) and produced by the entire Etolan tribe, Amis Music Festival is an annual music event that takes place at Dulan Junior High School in November. The artists living on the east coast and residents of Etolan tribe will deliver performances for the entire show. There is no fixed form for the performances featuring in the festival. You can enjoy performances such as contemporary dance, music from rock bands and folk singers, dramas and even choir singing. The main purpose of the festival is to let the participants experience the beauty of Etolan. During the festival, the residents of Etolan tribe will dressed up with their Amis tribal costume to sing and dance as a kind of celebration and also put some stands near the playground. So if you would like to experience Taiwanese indigenous culture through music festival, you must go participate the Amis Music Festival in Etolan tribe in Taitung.
Held in Bull Mountain Huting (牛山呼庭) in Hualien, the Organik Festival is the most mysterious electronic music festival in Taiwan. There is not much public information online, let alone media coverage. The news of the festival spread around mainly through word of mouth, making it be like a free paradise that only exists in folklore.
Lying near a mountain and facing the ocean on the eastside, Bull Mountain Huting is an uncontaminated seaside park. The place is full of installation arts that are made of drifted wood and was even selected as one of the shooting location for the film Silence, directed by the famous director Martin Scorsese. In April, during the Organik Festival, there will be electronic music playing non-stop for almost 24 hours. It is believed that those who are fond of Rave dance in the 90s would find it nostalgic here at the festival.
(Photo via Resident Advisor)
Organik Festival (有機派對)
Held in Bull Mountain Huting (牛山呼庭) in Hualien, the Organik Festival is the most mysterious electronic music festival in Taiwan. There is not much public information online, let alone media coverage. The news of the festival spread around mainly through word of mouth, making it be like a free paradise that only exists in folklore.
Lying near a mountain and facing the ocean on the eastside, Bull Mountain Huting is an uncontaminated seaside park. The place is full of installation arts that are made of drifted wood and was even selected as one of the shooting location for the film Silence, directed by the famous director Martin Scorsese. In April, during the Organik Festival, there will be electronic music playing non-stop for almost 24 hours. It is believed that those who are fond of Rave dance in the 90s would find it nostalgic here at the festival.
Shida and Gonguan business district is an important base for the development of indie music in Taipei. Not far away from the district, you’ll find Chaojhou Street, lying between MRT Guting and Dongmen stations. Every October, with Moon Romantic (台北月見ル君想フ) being the core performing stage, the shops on the streets will collaborate to formed a couple of small stages and kick off a limited one-day street music festival.
Chaojhou Street was a street block that many Japanese chose to stay in the past, so you could find a lot of remaining buildings constructed in Japanese styles. Very different from its neighborhood street Yongkang Street (永康街), which is famous for tourism, Chaojhou Street lies in a very serene block with many small unique shops. Chaojhou Street Music Festival is very suitable for those who enjoy a leisurely stroll in the city. The performers they invited include not only local Taiwanese musicians, but also some unique Japanese artists, and most of their songs were about joyful lifestyle.
(Photo courtesy of Chaojhou Street Festival)
Chaojhou Street Festival (潮州街音樂節)
Shida and Gonguan business district is an important base for the development of indie music in Taipei. Not far away from the district, you’ll find Chaojhou Street, lying between MRT Guting and Dongmen stations. Every October, with Moon Romantic (台北月見ル君想フ) being the core performing stage, the shops on the streets will collaborate to formed a couple of small stages and kick off a limited one-day street music festival.
Chaojhou Street was a street block that many Japanese chose to stay in the past, so you could find a lot of remaining buildings constructed in Japanese styles. Very different from its neighborhood street Yongkang Street (永康街), which is famous for tourism, Chaojhou Street lies in a very serene block with many small unique shops. Chaojhou Street Music Festival is very suitable for those who enjoy a leisurely stroll in the city. The performers they invited include not only local Taiwanese musicians, but also some unique Japanese artists, and most of their songs were about joyful lifestyle.
FireBall Fest. (火球祭), A Music Festival Held by a Band
Fire Ex. is the most famous punk band in Taiwan for the past few years. In 2017, together with Fire On Music and Between Music (相知音樂), they returned to their hometown Kaohsiung to hold their very first FireBall Fest.
Held at Kaohsiung Exhibition Center that’s located near Kaohsiung MRT Sanduo Shopping District, the FireBall Fest featured a free outdoor stage and two ticket required stages at a large exhibition space in Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. The two stages were designed with visuals of a dragon and a tiger that lay across each other, allowing performers to take turns playing at different stages and creating vigorous atmosphere for the audience.
As for the performers, the hosting band Fire Ex. intended to let FireBall Festival become a music festival that focuses specifically on punk music. Projecting their own music taste into consideration, the band had invited not only punk bands in Taiwan, but also Canadian rock band Sum 41 for their first event.
(Photo courtesy of FireBall Fest.)
FireBall Fest. (火球祭), A Music Festival Held by a Band
Fire Ex. is the most famous punk band in Taiwan for the past few years. In 2017, together with Fire On Music and Between Music (相知音樂), they returned to their hometown Kaohsiung to hold their very first FireBall Fest.
Held at Kaohsiung Exhibition Center that’s located near Kaohsiung MRT Sanduo Shopping District, the FireBall Fest featured a free outdoor stage and two ticket required stages at a large exhibition space in Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. The two stages were designed with visuals of a dragon and a tiger that lay across each other, allowing performers to take turns playing at different stages and creating vigorous atmosphere for the audience.
As for the performers, the hosting band Fire Ex. intended to let FireBall Festival become a music festival that focuses specifically on punk music. Projecting their own music taste into consideration, the band had invited not only punk bands in Taiwan, but also Canadian rock band Sum 41 for their first event.
Rock Bandoh (搖滾辦桌), The Festival Allows Fans to Enjoy Music with Traditional Taiwanese Cuisine
Blocking an entire road to put tables and throw a feast, “bandoh” is definitely a unique dining culture that most Taiwanese are familiar with and have probably experienced before. And Rock Bandoh Festival that was first held in September 2012 is exactly the brilliant outcome of combining music festivals with bandoh culture.
Savoring the food the bandoh cook prepared, drinking beer and enjoying the local music on the mobile stage are the symbolic activities of Rock Bandoh Festival. The festival received successful outcome during the first two years, and had become more and more popular. The location was even moved from Taiwan Beer Factory (建國啤酒廠) to Taipei Expo Park (花博公園) and the number of stages and performers were doubled as well.
However, after the expansion, the festival didn’t get to attract a great number of new audiences, and the project started to lose its freshness as well. It’s a pity that the festival discontinued after its 4th annual event in 2015.
(Photo via Rock Bandoh Facebook)
Rock Bandoh (搖滾辦桌), The Festival Allows Fans to Enjoy Music with Traditional Taiwanese Cuisine
Blocking an entire road to put tables and throw a feast, “bandoh” is definitely a unique dining culture that most Taiwanese are familiar with and have probably experienced before. And Rock Bandoh Festival that was first held in September 2012 is exactly the brilliant outcome of combining music festivals with bandoh culture.
Savoring the food the bandoh cook prepared, drinking beer and enjoying the local music on the mobile stage are the symbolic activities of Rock Bandoh Festival. The festival received successful outcome during the first two years, and had become more and more popular. The location was even moved from Taiwan Beer Factory (建國啤酒廠) to Taipei Expo Park (花博公園) and the number of stages and performers were doubled as well.
However, after the expansion, the festival didn’t get to attract a great number of new audiences, and the project started to lose its freshness as well. It’s a pity that the festival discontinued after its 4th annual event in 2015.
Park Park Carnival, The Carnival Featuring Modified Cars
Park Park Carnival was a music festival held by online music platform StreetVoice in 2014. The festival was actually a bold move. The host turned the hustle and bustle Taipei Expo Park into a huge “parking lot” and parked it with dozens of unique and modified cars. These cars had become the background of the stages of the festival.
Park Park Carnival was like a carnival that fused the creativity of cars, music and bands. Performers were selected through StreetVoice, and it also encouraged fellow music bands to compete on designing their own unique mobile stage car. From the design, you could tell the fearless styles of different indie bands. There was a car that was adhered with photos of porn stars, and a band even towed a scrapped car to the venue.
(Photo courtesy of StreetVoice)
Park Park Carnival, The Carnival Featuring Modified Cars
Park Park Carnival was a music festival held by online music platform StreetVoice in 2014. The festival was actually a bold move. The host turned the hustle and bustle Taipei Expo Park into a huge “parking lot” and parked it with dozens of unique and modified cars. These cars had become the background of the stages of the festival.
Park Park Carnival was like a carnival that fused the creativity of cars, music and bands. Performers were selected through StreetVoice, and it also encouraged fellow music bands to compete on designing their own unique mobile stage car. From the design, you could tell the fearless styles of different indie bands. There was a car that was adhered with photos of porn stars, and a band even towed a scrapped car to the venue.
Witch Festival (女巫祭), A Festival Held to Celebrated a Live House’s 20th Anniversary
The Witch House (女巫店), which is located near Wenzhou Street (溫州街), is a very famous live house in Taipei. Many musicians have played there before they made their breakthrough. The Witch House had its 20th anniversary in 2015, thus, it hosted the first ever 3-day outdoor music festival called “Witch Festival” at Xindian Wenshan Ranch (新店文山農場) at the end of 2015.
The Witch Festival had attracted numerous famous bands that had once performed at the Witch House to come perform again, some even reserved themselves a limited show at night. One of the headliners of the night was the trio formed with Wu Tsing Fong (吳青峰), the lead vocalist of the band Sodagreen, Golden Melody Award winning producer Chen Chien Chi (陳建騏), and the famous musician Chien Hsiu Hsu (徐千秀), creating a highlight for the festival.
The Witch Festival held a sustainable belief. During the 3-day event, the stands inside the festival didn’t and wouldn’t provide disposable tableware. Participants needed to bring their own to the event or rented from the host. This sustainable method worked very well that many festivals held later had applied this model as well.
(Photo by Chen Yung Hao & Wu Chien Hua, courtesy of Witch Festival)
Witch Festival (女巫祭), A Festival Held to Celebrated a Live House’s 20th Anniversary
The Witch House (女巫店), which is located near Wenzhou Street (溫州街), is a very famous live house in Taipei. Many musicians have played there before they made their breakthrough. The Witch House had its 20th anniversary in 2015, thus, it hosted the first ever 3-day outdoor music festival called “Witch Festival” at Xindian Wenshan Ranch (新店文山農場) at the end of 2015.
The Witch Festival had attracted numerous famous bands that had once performed at the Witch House to come perform again, some even reserved themselves a limited show at night. One of the headliners of the night was the trio formed with Wu Tsing Fong (吳青峰), the lead vocalist of the band Sodagreen, Golden Melody Award winning producer Chen Chien Chi (陳建騏), and the famous musician Chien Hsiu Hsu (徐千秀), creating a highlight for the festival.
The Witch Festival held a sustainable belief. During the 3-day event, the stands inside the festival didn’t and wouldn’t provide disposable tableware. Participants needed to bring their own to the event or rented from the host. This sustainable method worked very well that many festivals held later had applied this model as well.
(Photo by Chen Yung Hao & Wu Chien Hua, courtesy of Witch Festival)
Agoodday Lian-Lian Kan Festival (風和日麗連連看), A Festival That Embodies the Elegance of a Label
Taiwanese indie music label A Good Day Records (風和日麗唱片行) has released numerous highly important music such as the repertoire of Natural Q (自然捲), the urban folk duo consisted of Chico Tsai (奇哥) and Waa Wei (魏如萱).
In 2010, A Good Day Records tried their best to hold their own music festival called Agoodday Lian-Lian-Kan Music Festival. In 2012, the label celebrated its 10th anniversary, and held it for the second time. The label booked Legacy at Hua Shan 1914 as their venue for five weekends, arranging different musicians to perform in pairs.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the label, it moved the location of Agoodday Lian-Lian-Kan Festival to Jiaoxi (礁溪), Yilan. Though it rained on both day, but it didn’t pour out the fire inside the heart of the fans. The last day, Chico and Waa Wei appeared under a new band name called “Tap Water Band (自來水樂團)” and naturally performed the songs they had under the name of Natural Q. The venue was filled with audience in seconds, and their performance had created a memorable experience for many fans.
(Photo courtesy of A Good Day Records)
Agoodday Lian-Lian Kan Festival (風和日麗連連看), A Festival That Embodies the Elegance of a Label
Taiwanese indie music label A Good Day Records (風和日麗唱片行) has released numerous highly important music such as the repertoire of Natural Q (自然捲), the urban folk duo consisted of Chico Tsai (奇哥) and Waa Wei (魏如萱).
In 2010, A Good Day Records tried their best to hold their own music festival called Agoodday Lian-Lian-Kan Music Festival. In 2012, the label celebrated its 10th anniversary, and held it for the second time. The label booked Legacy at Hua Shan 1914 as their venue for five weekends, arranging different musicians to perform in pairs.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the label, it moved the location of Agoodday Lian-Lian-Kan Festival to Jiaoxi (礁溪), Yilan. Though it rained on both day, but it didn’t pour out the fire inside the heart of the fans. The last day, Chico and Waa Wei appeared under a new band name called “Tap Water Band (自來水樂團)” and naturally performed the songs they had under the name of Natural Q. The venue was filled with audience in seconds, and their performance had created a memorable experience for many fans.
