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

Tags: Co Op Sol, Gouride, Kunming Outdoor Music Festival, live music, Made in Dali, No Answer, Rap Republic, soldiers, Taiping Town, 打死我也不说, 邪作社

English movie and discussion at Chicago Coffee
Chicago Coffee which also has Monday Chinese corners and Tuesday English corners, will host its weekly English movie and discussion at 7pm. Admission is free with any purchase – call 5389288 for movie details.

Friday: Kunming Outdoor Music Festival - Day One
The opening of the second edition of the Kunming Outdoor Music Festival takes place at 8:00 tonight in Taiping Town (太平镇) near Anning with event organizers Gouride the first band to take the stage. Here's the schedule for Friday night:

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

Friday: DJs with VJ at Speakeasy
Speakeasy Bar will be hosting a night of auditory and visual stimulation featuring DJ Liu Yan w/DJ Latino and VJ Li Song tonight beginning at 10pm. Admission is free.

Saturday: Kunming Music Festival – Day Two
The second day of the Kunming Outdoor Music Festival in Taiping Town starts at 1 pm and is expected to go until early Sunday morning. Here's the all-local lineup for Saturday:

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

Saturday: Happy Hour with DJ Lao Mang
Fisherman's Bar will be having its weekly happy hour beer specials all day until 10 pm with DJ Lao Mang playing an eclectic mix of tunes. Admission is free.

John & Mattias at TC/G Nordica
Scandinavian duo John and Mattias will play an 8 pm show at TC/G Nordica Saturday night. Admission is five yuan.

Saturday: Electro night at Uprock
Saturday Uprock will host a night of local DJs playing their favorite electronic music. DJs Shonny, Liu Yan and Echoo will play from 10 pm until late in the night – admission is free.

Tags: Around Kunming, Co Op Sol, Gouride, Kunming Outdoor Music Festival

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

Tags: blues, Co Op Sol, Gouride, Heiyu, hiphop, Kunming Outdoor Music Festival, live music, metal, No Answer, punk, Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project, Rap Republic, Tribal Moons, 打死我也不说, 昆明露天音乐节, 狗日的, 邪作社

With the good weather expected to last through the weekend, this is a good time to get out and enjoy a variety of events including live music, dancing and holiday buffets. Here's a preview of some of the more notable events taking place in Kunming this weekend:

DJ Kris at Speakeasy
Tonight from 10 pm until late, Speakeasy Bar will feature DJ Kris, one of Kunming's more popular DJs. If recent sets are anything to go by, there should be loads of people dancing into the early morning. Admission is free.

KIA Christmas Performance
The second and final night of Kunming International Academy's annual Christmas performance featuring KIA students singing traditional Christmas songs will take place tonight. The 7:00 performance will be held at the HNA Hotel at the intersection of Huancheng Xi Lu and Xiba Lu. Tickets for the performance are 20 yuan – call 4126887 for more information.

Lucia buffet at TC/G Nordica
TC/G Nordica will celebrate Lucia, the Scandinavian celebration of the festival of Santa Lucia today and tomorrow with a buffet and concert both nights. The buffet begins at 6:00 pm and will be followed by a Lucia concert at 8:00. Admission to the buffet is 50 yuan, those who only attend the concert will be charged 25 yuan – 65 yuan gets you entrance to both events. For more information, call 4114691 or 4114692.

Han Ying at Halfway House
Eclectic musician Han Ying (寒鹰) will give a special performance at the Halfway House on Saturday night. Han, a Kunming native, is noted for his organic style of music – and making all of his instruments by hand. The 9 pm show costs 10 yuan, with tickets on sale at Halfway House, I Am Living and Wheatfields Bookstore.

Rock and Roll Circus at Shelter Bar
Also on Saturday night, Shelter Bar will host a night of local rock, with performances by Gouride, No Answer, Noise Addiction and Brain Concussion. The free show starts around 9 pm.

Tags: Brain Concussion, Christmas, DJ Kris, Gouride, Han Ying, Kunming International Academy, No Answer, Noise Addiction, Shelter Bar, Speakeasy Bar, TC/G Nordica

The Tribal Moons

For those who didn't make it out to Taiping town on Saturday for the Kunming Outdoor Music Festival, the Laowo Bar (老窝酒吧) near the Yunnan Art Institute will host three of the bands that played last weekend's festival tonight.

Featuring No Answer, Gouride and The Tribal Moons, the concert will celebrate Tribal Moons drummer Ma Tu's 21st birthday with live music and dancing well into the night. No Answer and Guoride will open the 9:30 show. The cover charge at the door is 15 yuan, which includes a free bottle of beer.

The Laowo Bar is located across from the front gate of the Yunnan Art Institute (云南艺术学院), just west of Kunrui Lu.

Tags: arts and entertainment, Gouride, Laowo Bar, live music, No Answer, Tribal Moons

This weekend will feature a diverse selection of events around Kunming, here's a quick rundown of things to do over the next three days:

Live hiphop: Rap Republic plays tonight at the Halfway House. The free show starts at 10 pm and will highlight new songs from the bilingual duo's new demo CD, which will be available at the show.

Mountain bike race: The UCC Cup Mountain Bike Offroad Race will take place this Saturday in Anning. Contact the Xiong Brothers Bike Shop at 5191520 for details.

Photo Exhibition: The Yunnan Provincial Museum at Dongfeng Xi Lu and Wuyi Lu will continue hosting a joint photo exhibition by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand and CCTV anchor Rita Zhao through Sunday. The exhibition, "Two Journeys, One Destination" features the Princess' photos of China over the last 25 years and Zhao's photos of Thailand from the past two years.

Store opening: A Ling Crafts, possibly the smallest store in Kunming, will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday night at 8:30. The shop is located three doors north of Paul's Shop on Tianjundian Xiang, just off of Wenhua Xiang.

Latin dance party: Also on Saturday night, The Hump Bar at Jinma Biji Fang will host a night of Latin dance. Dance lessons begin at 8:00 and the party will start up at 11:00. If Latin night's previous incarnation at the Halfway House is anything to go by, there should be a good turnout for this one too.

Bowling club: A new bowling club that has been posting in GoKunming's forum section will have its first meeting Sunday night at the Sakura Hotel at Dongfeng Dong Lu and Baita Lu. The first ball rolls at 7:30.

Punk rock: Speakeasy Bar will host a night of punk with local transplants Gouride opening for Taiwan punkers Stay Gold. Admission is 15 yuan and the show starts at 10:00. Bring the kids.

Tags: A Ling Crafts, cycling, Gouride, Halfway House, Latin dance, live music, Rap Republic, Speakeasy Bar, Stay Gold, UCC Cup Mountain Bike Offroad Race, Xiong Brothers Bike Shop