Results tagged “festivals”

Maybe you've noticed a cutesy lil' deer mascot named 乐乐 (Lele) posing around town, or maybe you've actually opened up the papers today to see Shanghai media enthusiastically promoting the occasion - but yes, the Shanghai Tourism Festival is starting up this Saturday.

                            

The sun shone on Midi and all was good. And at the end of the first day, Lao Cui said unto the gathered masses, "people say that Western rock music is like a rolling stone. I've always thought of Chinese rock music as like a rolling egg. The stone may be solid, but the egg has the chance of life."

Before we get on with this weekend's live music preview (and there's plenty going on by the way), here's a quick round-up of some recent music news we thought we'd share with you.

So you thought Midi was the only festival game in town? Think again. Three music events - all festivals of a sort - covering three different types of music are heading your way in the next month or so. Yes, we know one of them is related to Expo, but World Music has the right to a festival too and bringing in those kind of artists was never going to escape Haibao's reach this close to 2010. We'll have more details on all of these nearer the time but, for now, here's a preview:

By Matthias Doyle

UPDATE: And just a few minutes later, according to @Neocha, Shanghai Midi is canceled. Apparently there was a permit issue?

                        

The pinnacle of Western Civilization met Shanxi Bei Lu last weekend as Fasia, the first French wine importer and cellar owner in China, threw the very first French wine festival in Shanghai. With on-site wine specialists including a Maitre Sommelier who happens to be one of only 58 recognized in the world, wine enthusiasts enjoyed a well prepared feast of the senses. Fancy!

Just one week in and 2009 has been largely dull, grey, and wet. Thankfully then, the good people at Split Works have put together a ten day long festival of art and music to warm our cockles - starting today. According to the organisers, Jue Festival is "an excuse to leave your hidey-hole and experience a punk show, an art installation, and everything in between", which sounds pretty good to us. The festival (which is also taking place in Beijing), will showcase some of Shanghai's best creative talent and is hosting a diverse set of artists and performers.

At Zhujiajio water village 朱家角水世界, about an hours' car drive from central Shanghai

Most might assume that a week without a weekend might make for a dull time, void of events worthy of checking out. Well, this week they would be wrong. In the lead up to the October holiday there are 4 solid nights of gigs to choose from.

UPDATE, 17:15: An article over on Sina (link in Chinese) is pointing to policing problems and a lack of adequate security as the cause of Midi's demise (a claim seconded by theBeijinger) whilst also quoting festival organiser Zhang Fan as saying that "a postponement is possible, but only possible, there has not been a definitive decision yet". Meanwhile, CityWeekend also quote Zhang: "I'd rather not say right now. There will be an announcement tomorrow". That, to Shanghaiist at least, sounds like a stall for time to inform all the artists/promoters etc. before making the postponement public. CW do state however that the (obviously) smaller-scale Mini Midi festival will still go ahead.

                   

Moroccan food, klezmer music, and dancing in Shanghai's oldest synagogue. It was so good a party the PLA couldn't even stay away.

As you’ve no doubt read about already here on Shanghaiist, this weekend could be one of the best for live music since we scuttled into the Year of the Rat. Therefore, you’ll forgive us if we don’t make it down to M on the Bund but instead spend our time over the next couple of days at slightly less refined venues checking out some great bands. Nevertheless, if books not beats are your thing, then M is the place to be as we enter round 3 of SILF (not to be confused with these SILFs incidentally).

Just because we’re on the other side of the world from Ireland doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty going on for St Paddy’s Day over here in Shanghai. This year, March 17th — the date when all of us are a little bit Irish — inconveniently falls on a Monday but fear not, the Emerald Isle’s Shanghai contingent are celebrating early with a bunch of events this weekend.

Our friends over at Split Works tipped us off to their Yue Festival website, on which you can vote for the artists you'd most like to see at the second annual event this fall. Lots of big names on the list — how many of them are realistic, and how big of a role voter opinion will play in the signing process, remain to be seen. But we have been told that all but perhaps one band mentioned on the list are possibilities, although some are much more expensive than others (yes, we're looking at you Mr. West).

We have recently been taking flak for being lazy in bringing you the latest news in the live music scene. So here you go — something to make you all wet inside your pants: Rumors have been flying around that the Midi Festival is taking the show on the road this year. They are supposedly organizing something called the 'Midi Carnival' featuring many of the local as well as international bands that will be playing at the original Beijing Midi Festival. According to what we have heard it will be spread out over two days at some park adjacent to the Pearl Tower. This is apparently what has been told to a few tour managers who are bringing over bands. From the short list of international bands that we have seen so far it looks like Midi is going to have an even stronger metal slant than in the past. Backyard Babies and Hardcore Superstar from Sweden as well as Raunchy from Denmark are scheduled to play. Watch this space for more news!

Shanghaiist wishes all female readers a happy International Women's Day (三八妇女节快乐)! Ladies, sit back, relax and watch this video specially made for you by the wonderful guys from SexyBeijing TV:

International Women's Day is this Saturday, March 8 so we're posting this video to celebrate two of the badass women we admire in Beijing's rock scene. Atom is the drummer for Hedgehog and Li Qing is the drummer for Carsick Cars and guitarist for Snapline.

Continue reading "Happy International Women's Day!"

This evening will see the second week of the Shanghai International Literary Festival kicking off down at M on the Bund. Events will continue across the weekend and throughout the week, providing plenty of opportunities to see a whole host of great writers and performers. Ticket details can be found here as can the full line-up (which we suggest you check - there's far too much going on for us to cover it all in one post!). Below are just some of the highlights you can expect to see:

Now into its fifth year, M on the Bund’s Shanghai International Literary Festival kicks off this weekend and once again has an impressive line up featuring a string of famous names and expert figures from across the book world. Running for the next three weekends, the festival offers Shanghai’s literati the chance to see some of the best Chinese and international writers. With so many great events to choose from (you can buy tickets and view the full line-up here) it’s hard to select highlights, but below are Shanghaiist’s picks from this weekend’s guests…

We apologize in advance for another post about another YouTube video, but our editor is still in Hong Kong on an unanticipated visa run and we are busy trying to figure out what to pack for a trip that includes both Florida (83°F/28°C) and Pennsylvania (36°F/2°C).

Well, then: Oops. What last month we said was going to happen, this month was made official. China has scrapped May holiday, one of its three Golden Weeks, and turned three traditional festivals into national holidays. Here's how your official 2008 Chinese holiday schedule now looks:

We went to opening night last Thursday and were able to get a sneak peek into the 1933 building mentioned a few posts back, where some of the exhibitions were still being touched up at the last minute. One of the purposes of the SICIW is to bring together art and design entities from all over the world into one place, perhaps fomenting future collaboration and connection. From Shanghai Daily:

You will get to see scenes like the one above on Nanjing Lu a lot less often from next year on. All those rumours that we've been hearing have been confirmed. The May Golden Week holiday is going to be cut down to one day, and this may happen as early as 2008. In the meanwhile, three more national holiday have been added: namely the Tomb-sweeping Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. This...

It is official...the golden week has finally hit Shanghai, and it is hitting us hard, with a multitude of music festivals. So for those of you who are taking the vacation serious and drinking so much you can't think straight, Shanghaiist is here to do the thinking for you. Feel free to print and paste the sample itinerary listed below to that one pair of underwear you plan on wearing for the entire week.

Ever thought of what you're doing to offset your carbon footprint? This Saturday, instead of driving your car or taking a taxi, why don't you try taking public transport, cycling or walking instead? Residents will be asked to avoid driving private cars within the Inner Ring Road, and while compliance is not mandatory, driving will be banned outright in some areas.

September is quickly sliding into history, which means for all us music fans that the orgy of music festivals Shanghai will experience in the first weeks of October is almost upon us. And of course Shanghaiist is here to bring you the latest in festival news.....

Punk might not be dead, but it seems that, due to permit issues, the Exploited tour is. What Shanghaiist can't figure out is why the Exploited, in all their anti-government glory, would even apply for permits (many of the bands who come for China tours do it on tourist visas). Any one who has already purchased tickets for the show will be able to take them back to 4Live for a full refund.

Shanghai, typically a live music wasteland, is preparing for a gaggle (Shanghaiist has the hippest vocabulary) of music festivals, all scheduled for the normally dead October Golden weekend. Get ready for 4...yes, count'em....f-o-u-r....music festivals, with some pretty damn exciting bands.