Singer/songwriter Sandee Chan is one of this year's performers
One of Taiwan’s biggest annual indie music events, the Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival will see some of Taiwan’s greatest singers and bands performing over five days at Fulong Beach on the northeast coast of the country.
Commissioner of the New Taipei city government’s Tourism and Travel Department, Chen Kuo-jun has said that this year’s event will also feature a women’s rock night for the first time.
Taking place on July 12th, this special night will feature performances by female singer/songwriters Faith Young, Sandee Chan and Waa Wei, alongside local rock bands such as My Skin Against Your Skin, Go Chic and Queen Suitcase.
"Women's rock music has been flourishing in Taiwan in recent years and we hope it has a chance to shine at the festival this year," Chen
said.
This year, the festival will also feature 40 professional singers and bands from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Germany and other countries, as well as 50 lesser-known groups and singers.
Taiwanese rock band Mayday will also play at this year’s festival on July 15th. This event is sure to be highly popular, as Mayday is a hot favourite in Taiwan, and is fresh out of being declared the biggest winner of this year’s Golden Melody Awards.
The band, which formed in the late 1990s, consists of five members and has sold over 1 million albums to date. Often thought of as the leading rock band in Taiwan, Mayday claims to be musically influenced by The Beatles, U2, and Oasis, amongst others.
Chen also noted that a music award competition on July 14th and local and foreign bands performances on July 15th will be streamed on live TV for the first time ever, an exciting development for this ever growing festival.
This means that every band playing on July 15th, which includes Mayday, Australian-Japanese punk rock band The Dirt Radicals, German punk rock back Frontkick, South Korean band Yaya, Chinese folk music group Hanggai and Japanese rock band D’erlanger, will have the opportunity of having their performance reaching a far wider audience than ever before.
Now in its 12th year, the festival is an initiative of the New Taipei city government, and is known as one of the three biggest music festivals in Taiwan. Its annual setting on the Fulong Beach has made it a popular tourist attraction, as music fans get to not only experience some great tunes, but also to get a taste of the natural and unique environment of Taiwan.