This year's Dali Folk Festival (三月街民族节), already in its 19th year, will be joined for the first time by a rock festival featuring top rock bands from Kunming and Dali.

The rock festival, organized by the Hump Group, will take place at the main square of the Wu Miao Temple Complex on Bo Ai Road in Dali Old Town on April 10 and 11.

Bands scheduled to perform at the festival include Tribal Moons, Show Me, No Answer (aka 打死我也不说), Cash Boy and several Dali bands to be announced later. After the performances, DJs Lumberjack Jon, Siku and Da Ma Ke will provide additional music. Music begins at 9:00 both evenings.

Ticketing for the free festival will be done in a rather unorthodox manner: a 20 yuan deposit that is paid before the show and returned after the show. For more information about tickets call Annie at 15825276313.

Free transportation to Dali and back and accommodation for the two days has been provided for the first 100 people to get their tickets. A further twenty tickets have been marked out for free transportation without the accommodation.

The Dali Folk Festival itself will run from April 10 to April 16. Ethnic musicians, dancers and performers from all over the region will be involved in over 100 performances. The festival coincides with Dali's Third Moon Market (三月街), with scores of shops selling food, handicrafts, traditional Chinese medicines and more. A small clutch of booths also have their own little side shows.

Thanks to Arun Veembur for sending a press release about this event. If you have an event you think GoKunming readers would like to know about, please send us info via our contact form

The second installment of the Kunming Outdoor Music Festival took place over the weekend in Taiping Town outside of Kunming - this time featuring two days of music from bands based in Kunming and Dali. This edition of the festival attracted around 600 people and featured a greater variety of performers than the last - plus perfect weather for taking in music under the stars.

Many of the performers from the first edition of the festival last November made it back to perform on Friday and Saturday nights, including organizers Gouride (狗日的), Tribal Moons, Heiyu (黑宇), and No Answer (打死我也不说).

No Answer, whose Chinese name means 'beat me to death and I still won't talk', was arguably the most improved band since the last festival – owing primarily to the addition of vocalist Bai Cai, whose energetic stage presence was able to get the audience more involved than at the band's previous shows （see above image). Drummer Yang Yang also put in a solid performance, confirming her status as one of the more talented young drummers in the Kunming music scene.

Perhaps the biggest surprise at the festival was the opening night performance by the rock/reggae hybrid Made in Dali, who were the consensus favorite among people who attended the festival both evenings.

There was a sizeable military presence at the festival, with dozens of (officially) off-duty soldiers checking out the variety of musical offerings under a nearly full moon. On Saturday night during an 11 pm set by Co Op Sol (邪作社), formerly known as Rap Republic, two military personnel carriers drove into the festival, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Some of the audience was slightly confused when a few dozen soldiers quickly assembled at the rear of the seating area. Things quickly returned to normal, however, after it became apparent that the soldiers seemed more interested in watching the show than interrupting...好玩嘎！

Photo: Aaron Bono

Related Article: Kunming Outdoor Music Festival returns this month

With the success of the first Kunming Outdoor Music Festival (昆明露天音乐节) last November, the event's organizers are bringing the all-day – and most of the night – music festival back to Taiping Town outside of Kunming on April 19. The all-local festival should be even more diverse than last time, with bands performing punk, blues, metal, hiphop, punk and bluegrass.

The lineup for this edition of the festival includes Heiyu (黑宇), Gouride (狗日的), Broken String (断弦), Endless Torture (无尽折磨), Noise Addiction, No Answer (打死我也不说), Brain Concussion (脑震荡), Co Op Sol (邪作社 – formerly known as Rap Republic), Kouxian (扣弦), Chicken Butt (鸡屁股), Tribal Moons (see above image), Chaling (叉灵), Fang Band (坊乐队), The Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project and Nicole.

The festival starts at noon and will go late into the night – festivalgoers are encouraged to bring tents to stay on the campground overnight. Food and drinks will also be on sale throughout the day and evening.

Tickets for the festival are 30 yuan at the gate, or 20 yuan if purchased in advance at The Hump Bar, Halfway House, Speakeasy Bar or Laowo Bar.

The festival will once again be held at the Wumozhai Jiuzhuang Eco-garden on Xiao Jie in Taiping Town (太平镇小街无墨斋酒庄生态元), near the city of Anning (安宁). According to event organizers, the number 17 bus at Xiao Ximen can be taken to Taiping Town, and there will also be a shuttle bus between Taiping Town and the Arts Theatre at Wuyi Lu and Dongfeng Xi Lu throughout the day for five yuan one way.

UPDATE: We have just received notice from the festival's organizers that the festival has been expanded to two days – with a short evening set on Friday, April 18th and 19th, with a few additional bands and DJs. Here's the schedule for the two days:

Friday, April 18th

8 pm: Gouride
9 pm: Jinzi
10 pm: Stiop
11 pm: Made in Dali
Midnight: Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project
1 am: Brain Concussion
Afterward: DJs Tantrum, Jezz and Menace

Saturday, April 19th

1 pm: Nicole
2 pm: Fang Band
3 pm: Anyeqi
4 pm: Brain Concussion
5 pm: Kouxian
6 pm: Gouride
7 pm: No Answer
8 pm: Tribal Moons
9 pm: Heiyu
10 pm: Broken String
11 pm: Co-op Sol
Midnight: Chaling
1 am: Endless Torture
2 am: Noise Addiction
Afterward: DJ Moon Unit/DJ Chengcheng

UPDATE 2: The festival site is rather difficult to find, here's a Chinese map:

Related articles:

No Answer - Kunming's riot grrls

Kunming Bands to play outdoor music festival