There'll be few places to hide from the noise in the coming weeks as two of Taiwan's biggest music festivals go back to back -- each with a series of warm-up concerts held across the island.
The last of the warm-ups for this year's Ho-Hai-Yan Festival (
It will pit some 10 as yet unsigned bands against one another for a grand prize of NT$200,000. The winners from the last two battles, along with tomorrow's winner, will advance to the final round on the beach at Fulong July 11 to July 13 as part of Taiwan's indie music awards.
PHOTO: MTV
This year's Ho-Hai-Yan is being co-organized by Taiwan Colors Music, which is taking care of the line-up on Friday and Saturday, and MTV, which has invited several overseas bands to take the stage on Sunday, including the Perishers from Sweden, Jaurim from South Korea and Mob Squad from Japan. Perhaps the festival's greatest attribute -- besides being on the beach -- is that it's free.
The Formoz Festival (
But if you miss any of them or are wondering where some of the dozen other bands are don't fret; another four Pre-Formozes have been scheduled for July 4 in Taichung, July 5 in Tainan, July 12 in Kaohsiung and July 13 in Taitung -- all leading up to the three-day concert itself on July 19, 20 and 21 at Taipei Municipal Children's Recreational Center (
Check out the Formoz Web site at http://formoz.com for more information.
There's an English-language version available with everything you need to know on who's playing and how to get to the festival and each of the Pre-Formozes.
Admission to the five warm-up concerts is free, although attendees to the Taichung gig will be required to pay an NT$50 entrance fee to the Folk Park. Tickets to the festival itself cost NT$950 for a three-day pass and can be purchased through Acer Ticketing.
One-day passes for Saturday and Sunday cost NT$350. Organizers are betting that anyone willing to take off on Monday, July 21 is also willing to pay nearly twice as much and are charging NT$600 for the day.
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