Tents, Fairs, and Mosh Pits: China’s Festival Culture Matures
Events, Faye, Music — By Faye on May 26, 2010 at 2:05 pmMay Holiday was festival season in Beijing, and one lucky enovate staff member was sent up to check it out. Youth and street culture expert, Faye Yu, spent a week with our friends in the north scanning the different festivals, coming back with stories and photos to make us all jealous!
Festival culture in China is growing fast, and this year Beijing saw it’s greatest round of festivals yet! Those in attendance had three distinct events to choose from: Strawberry, Midi, and the Chaoyang Park music festival — each with its own feel and flare. I skipped the Chaoyang Park festival, but got a full dose of indie rock at Strawberry and Midi. Due to either poor planning or competitive spirit, both events went down on the same weekend. It turned into a bit of a Midi vs Strawberry showdown, and it seems most people would agree with me when I say: I liked Midi, but preferred Strawberry.
The Lineup Strawberry lasted 3 days with 6 stages and 132 bands/artists. The lineup was mostly local, as was the audience. Midi featured 5 stages with 139 bands/artists over 4 days. The Midi had a dozen overseas bands/artists, which may help explain its popularity with foreigners in China. While there was quite a bit of overlap in lineups, Strawberry had a couple big-name artists locked in exclusively, including 后海大鲨鱼 (Queen Sea Big Shark)，左小诅咒 (Zuoxiaozuzhou)，果味VC (Super VC). All in all, Strawberry showcased more Pop Rock acts, while Midi was more Rock & Roll.
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2 Comments
Great reporting Faye! I am curious about the DIYer selling the retro Feiyue…I would imagine only progress young festival goers are interested in such retro fashion. When I speak to more mainstream youth, they always talk about their desire for Nike and other aspirational shoe brands. Will these trends ever hit the mass market youth? How do you think a trend goes from being niche to mass?
Hi Juan,
Thanks for the comments. I agree that Feiyue is still a bit of a niche thing, and i think the main reason for that is the formed opinion that it’s cheap and not good quality. The French company that acquired the Feiyue brand actually has made a lot of improvements on design and quality. If they decide to launch the same styles here as in France (I’ve seen some of their really cool new designs), I think they can make a market for themselves. Why haven’t they? Maybe launching a new brand in a mature market is just easier than turning around an old brand in an immature market… Irony is Feiyue outsold Converse in France last year!