Events under the stars quick to attract indie rock bands and fans

Event organizers are testing the waters for live music performances by staging music festivals nationwide.

More than 10,000 fans attended a twoday event on Aug 15 and Aug 16 in Chongli district, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, that featured rock bands such as Miserable Faith, Hedgehog and Jiulian Zhenren.

Temperature checks and hand sanitizer stations greeted the fans before they were admitted to the Midi Music Festival.

On Aug 20, the Rye Music Festival, an annual outdoor event launched in 2018 by the Taihe Music Group, announced that performances this year would be staged on Sept 19 and Sept 20 at a wetland park in Zibo city, Shandong province.

Headliners will include indie rock bands such as veterans The Face, and Penicillin, a young group propelled to fame after appearing on the first season of the reality show The Big Band.

One fan posted on the event's Sina Weibo platform:"I am looking forward to the outdoor music festival. The lineups are very tempting.

"After the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, watching live shows again will feel strange. I bought tickets for the event immediately they went on sale, because I want to support the music scene."

Meanwhile, the lineup for the My Wave Music Festival, being staged on Sept 12 and Sept 13 at a resort in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, includes more than 20 indie rock bands, including Second Hand Rose, Joyside and Carsick Cars.

From September to December, White Paper, a young duo comprising lead vocalist and guitarist Liu Jiahui and a drummer nicknamed Chongzi, will stage its first tour this year. The duo will perform in nearly 20 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and Changsha capital of Hunan province.

White Paper won a large fan base after appearing on The Big Band, for which it was considered a "dark horse". The show, produced by the video streaming platform iQiyi, premiered on July 25.

Founded in 2014, White Paper started out by playing at School, a small live house bar in Wudaoying, a hutong, or alleyway area, of Beijing.

Vocalist Liu said: "It's been a long time since we performed in front of a live audience. We've played to fewer than 10 people in the past, but it still felt good."

Tickets for the upcoming tour have sold well and the duo expects to meet new fans, Liu added.