Sandstorms fail to break rock spirit

Related slideshow: Strawberry Music Festival 2011

Thousands of music fans in Beijing braved strong winds and sandstorms at the weekend as they flocked to the outskirts of the city for three of China's biggest music festivals.

Revelers at the Strawberry Music Festival at Tongzhou Canal Park, Midi Festival at Jinglang Island Park and China Music Valley International Music Festival in Pinggu district wrangled with gusts of more than 50 km/h.

"The biggest problem we had all weekend, especially on Saturday, was the weather," said Shan Wei, deputy manager of Midi, who estumated more than 30,000 people had attended over the course of three days. "Even though there were strong winds and dust, everyone was still in very high spirits because of the music. The wind was strong and the dust was bad, but nobody was disheartened."

Shan added that organizers were pleased to see numbers still high despite having to move the festival's location for the first time in its 10-year history, from Haidian Park downtown to the outlying Mentougou district.

"Fans at Midi aren't just Beijing people," said Shan. "We get people who travel from cities all over to attend, so I'm not surprised they're willing to do whatever it takes to enjoy great music."

In addition to strong winds, revelers at Strawberry found the event a sobering experience after drinks tents were told to stop selling alcohol.

"We can't sell beer any longer," said a drink vendor near the electronica stage. "The police asked us to stop selling because they don't want people to drink too much."

The festival ran dry at about 6 pm on Saturday, the first day of the festival, just as a massive dust storm engulfed the crowd of thousands filling the park. A police spokesman was unavailable for comment on Monday.

"It was completely lame," said Peter Daulin, a Swede who was at Strawberry on Sunday. "The reason I love to go to music festivals is to enjoy a few drinks while taking in the sun and the music."

The sandstorm and block on alcohol sales were two more blows to the Strawberry organizer Modern Sky, which had to cancel the earlier Suzhou leg due to "storm damage to the festival ground". METRO was unable to contact the company before going to press.

This was the first time all three music festivals were held over the same weekend, a sign of Beijing's mushrooming music scene.

"There are more and more festivals happening at the same time in Beijing, but I think it's good for the local music scene," said Shan. "With all the options available, people of every age can find a music festival they like."

Avril Lavigne, who headlined Music Valley as part of her Asia tour, wrote on her official blog after the gig: "Great first show last night. It's been over two years since I put on a full concert." The Canadian songstress will next perform in Shanghai on May 6 before heading to Seoul.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/03/2011)