Does Shanghai need another music festival?
Bracketed by Zebra Music Festival in August and the Shanghai Jazz Festival in October, will the new Black Rabbit Festival see a crowd like this?In what they hope will eventually become a time-honored tradition to signal the end of summer, local music promoter Split Works has joined forces with national music company Taihe Live (太合互动) to create the Black Rabbit Festival (黑兔音乐节).
The one-day music showcase on September 18 features 30 bands and is spread across four stages at the Shanghai Rugby Club.
While it’s hard to deny a celebration of music featuring the likes of Atlanta rapper Ludacris, New Jersey indie buzz band Titus Andronicus and Jared Leto’s emo outfit 30 Seconds to Mars, the recent influx of music festivals in Shanghai -- with the arrival of MIDI and Zebra festival brands -- leaves many wondering if there's a need for yet another outdoor multi-stage event.
The Yue Festival
I think [China] needs some smaller music festivals. The formation of rock [music] culture most importantly relies on club culture, [but] music festivals promote a music consumer behavior.— Yang Haisong (杨海松), frontman for Beijing post-punk band PK 14
“I’ve always maintained for people doing things differently,” explains Split Works founder Archie Hamilton, the main man behind Black Rabbit.
“The ultimate scenario is [to hold] a music festival because you can showcase tons of bands to masses of people in an environment you can control.”
The genesis of Black Rabbit dates back to 2007, when the then-fledgling Spli-t Works (they’ve since removed the hyphen) presented the YUE Festival, a similar (albeit smaller) event in Shanghai’s Zhongshan Park.
Perhaps a bit ahead of its time, YUE folded after one outing.
China's explosion of music festivals
But in the four years since YUE, China has exploded with rock. Festivals have popped up nationwide, mostly with the same rotating cast of artists and with often-underwhelming results due to a general lack of knowledge and infrastructure.
"The Chinese music festivals are indeed homogeneous -- [they] have become a way [for the organizers] to profit, instead of a chance to treat the fans," says Lene Fang, a 26-year-old Shanghainese live music fan.
"It's not the music that many locals attend the music festivals for. It represents a trendy lifestyle."
With everyone from fashion and alcohol brands, to social networking sites and even Greenpeace using independent music as a marketing tool, Chinese government agencies and property developers soon decided to jump on the bandwagon.
More on CNNGo: The 8 best Shanghai live music venues
They started hiring sub-par entertainment, equipment and production for exorbitant sums of money, saturating the Mainland’s festival scene, and eventually exposing themselves as short-sighted and false prophets rather than lovers and promoters of music.
Black Rabbit Festival raising the bar
“I think [China] needs some smaller music festivals,” states Yang Haisong (杨海松), front man for Beijing post-punk quartet PK 14, who will be playing Black Rabbit’s main stage.
“The formation of rock [music] culture most importantly relies on club culture, [but] music festivals promote a music consumer behavior.”
For music festival regular Fang, the key draw is "the music festival's lineup."
"I only go to see my favorite acts," Fang adds.
Rather than start small, Split Works and Taihe Live have gone big, if not huge, for the inaugural Black Rabbit.
Split Works is not just about giving Shanghai festival fans a higher caliber of entertainment; it also aims to expose concert-goers to a wider variety of music, ultimately hoping to convert casual listeners into more educated and discerning audiophiles, and raise local standards for indie music and festival production.
The future
“The lineup at this festival is interesting, varied and deep,” comments Shanghai-based musician and critic Adam Crossley.
“[And] it would be great to see a crossover in fans, as in Chinese fans being exposed to new cool stuff.”
While it’s clear that Split and Taihe have every intention of outshining their festival-promoting peers with superior talent and production, the only question is whether enough Shanghai fans and residents will respond, thus letting Black Rabbit outlive all those one-hit-wonder music fests.
"Unlike Beijing, I think Shanghai doesn't have that many music festivals right now. The ones we have are of different genres," comments Fang. "I would go to the Black Rabbit Festival because it has the acts I like, for example 30 Seconds to Mars and Yellowcard."
More on CNNGo: 4 best new Shanghai indie bands
As for the organizer, Black Rabbit Festival is a long-term game.
"We need to build a brand and build trust to the point where we’re viable,” adds Hamilton.
“Festivals are about consistency and being in it for the long term. We’re trying to bring the audience to the table ... creating more resonance with the Chinese people.”
Black Rabbit Festival , September 18, 12 p.m.-10 p.m., Shanghai Rugby Football Club, 2700 Zhangyang Bei Lu, near Wuzhou Da Dao 张杨北路200号上海瑞可碧橄榄球俱乐部, 近五洲大道, +86 400 610 3721, RMB 260 (pre-sale); RMB 350 (at the door), official website: hei-tu.com/2011, ticket website: piao.com.cn
More details on Black Rabbit Festival’s performance schedule.
