Some 35 years ago, one of the biggest events to take place at Chungshan Hall
was when a folk singer named Yang Sien (楊弦) went on stage on June 6, 1976
and gave "the first Chinese modern folk-song concert."
He was later labeled the "father of modern folk" because increasing numbers
of college students began following his lead, toting guitars and singing
their own tunes on campuses, at pubs and even at Chungshan Hall.
The whole scene came about more than 10 years after Bob Dylan descended on
New York from the Minnesota prairie, stirring up an army of coffeehouse
copycats throughout the US. And just as happened in the US, Taiwan's own
folk music had a considerable impact on the development of pop music.
Now these pioneering singer/songwriters are returning to the stage once
again. Their voices are still flowing and clear and their styles remain pure
acoustic. Not all of them are remembered as singers, however. Hu Deh-fu(胡德
夫) has since become a social movement advocate and others have become
business executives; Lee Chien-fu (李健復) is a director at Yahoo Asia, and
Wu Chu-chu (吳楚楚) is the president of UFO records.
These singers' first reunion packed the concert hall five years ago. The
same is likely to happen this time as 70 percent of the tickets have already
been sold. Available tickets are for the Monday concert only and are priced
between NT$500 and NT$1,000.
"The Story of Folk" (校園民歌的故事) will take place on Sunday and Monday
from 7:30pm to 10pm at Chungshan Hall, 98 Yenping S. Rd., in Taipei (台北市
延平南路98號). Tickets for the Monday concert are available through ERA
ticketing outlets.
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