Music days are here again

“Sometimes tragedies can inspire us,” says a statement made by Ruth and Judea Pearl and posted on the Daniel Pearl Foundation Web site.

The Daniel Pearl Music Day event began in 2002 to commemorate the Oct. 10 birthday of Wall Street reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan. This year’s event will be held at Treasure Hill (寶藏巖聚落) tomorrow, and will be marked by the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club (TFCC) with music, food and beer.

According to event organizer Sean Scanlan, performers have volunteered their time, and even more sponsors have stepped forward this year to donate goods to help defray the financial cost of the day’s activities.

The main stage will be located on a tennis court and an acoustic stage will be located outside Treasure Hill Tea and Photo.

Local performers include Mister Green, Public Radio, The Anglers, David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers and other guests.

“The first event in the US was attended by 400 to 500 people and the band was Gene Loves Jezebel,” said Scanlan, who originally got involved in the event through his sister who worked with Pearl’s parents.

From these humble beginnings, the festival has grown exponentially. There are now over 406 events attended by over 400,000 people in 39 countries and featuring some of the best-known acts across a variety of musical genres. It is expected that the gig at Treasure Hill will attract around 500 people.

The event is not a philanthropic enterprise as the parents of Daniel Pearl don’t want fundraising to take place. Instead, the stated goal of the Daniel Pearl Day of Music is to generate awareness for the men and women who risk their lives reporting from war-torn areas and everyday citizens who work to advance peace and the cessation of hostilities.

“We just want people to come out and have a good time,” Scanlan said.