Kaohsiung troubadour Yan Yung-neng (嚴詠能), who took home the best Taiwanese-language album gong at last year’s Golden Melody Awards, will appear onstage tomorrow night in Chiayi with Jimmy Wang (王俊傑), a 34-year-old blues and ballad singer from Tamsui. Wang is blind, Yan is sighted, and together they sing their hearts out. The concert will feature a two-hour set of tunes sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese). Many of Yan’s lyrics are rousing calls for Taiwanese pride, including So Long As Everyone Gathers to Eat Taiwan Rice (只要大家攏吃台灣米), which is on the menu tomorrow, too. Yan, 41, often tours towns and villages in southern Taiwan, appearing on make-shift stages barefoot, wearing handmade hippie clothes of his own design. Wang, 34, has been blind since birth and lives in Tamsui with his wife and 5-year-old daughter. The show promises to shine a southern spotlight on Hoklo music.
■ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
■ Chiayi County Performing Arts Hall (嘉義縣表演藝術中心演藝廳), 265, Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minsyong Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號).
Photo Courtesy of Mala Music
■ On the Net: www.malamusic.com.tw
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,000, available at the door
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