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Vivian Chen

Summer Pop, a two-day music event featuring more than 80 local and regional performers, may not be Hong Kong's answer to Fuji Rock in Japan or Taiwan's Hohaiyan festival, but it's creating a big buzz on the local music scene.
Organised by the Hong Kong Performing Industry Association, the festival will run from 3pm to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday  at the 13,500-seat AsiaWorld-Arena.  
'It's the first music event of this kind to take place in Hong Kong,' says Florence Chan Suk-fun, president of the association. 'We are happy about its positive influence on the local music scene.'  
The festival, presented by the Tourism Board, aims to draw an audience of 25,000 from Hong Kong, the mainland, Taiwan and Singapore, with the aim of revitalising a tourism industry hard hit by swine flu. 
'Our target audience is familiar with Hong Kong's music and  artists, so we are trying to include as many genres as possible to meet everyone's needs,' says Chan. 
Local performers make up most of the lineup and include  veteran singer Liza Wang Ming-chun, Karen Mok Man-wai,  Joey Yung Cho-yee and boy band Grasshopper. Taiwanese band Mayday, mainland pop idol Zhou Bichang and rocker Cui Jian are also among the main acts. 
Musicians will collaborate on more than 20 live performances including musical and dance shows and even stand-up comedy. 
Canto-pop idols Kay Tse On-kay and Eric Suen Yiu-wai will star in a musical about a doomed love-triangle, and  Grasshopper will rap with 24Herbs and Justin Lo Ting-wei.  There will be a mash-up of musical styles, from the Mando-pop hits of the 50s to the theme songs of TV dramas to hip-hop and  dance music.  
Grasshopper's Calvin Choi Yat-chi is happy to be part of the event and says: 'Our biggest responsibility is to entertain the audience. We hope they'll all go home happy and satisfied.'
Sir JBS from 24Herbs says: 'Hip-hop is relatively new in Hong Kong. We just do what we do best - hype the crowd and make everybody move, since Hong Kong audiences are usually conservative. We'll make them party, party for two days, that's what we'll do.' 
'We've always wanted to jam with local musicians. It's a great opportunity to meet musicians from overseas and it's good for us to reach out to Taiwan, China and even South Asia. We're pretty excited about this. It's going to be a very fresh experience for us to work alongside  veteran artists. I'm sure some sparks will fly.'
Chan says that by bringing musicians  from different styles together, the  lifeless local music scene could  get a boost.
'Because of illegal downloading, very few people actually buy albums today. I think this event can at least arouse their interest and passion for music - after all, everyone needs music,' says Chan. 
For Choi, music events such  as Summer Pop break down  the barriers between different  record labels and allow more creative possibilities. 
'We can learn many things just by performing alongside  veterans,  looking closely at how they prepare and  perform,' he says. 
Summer Pop was put together by a group of local record labels including Amusic, Gold Typhoon, Emperor Entertainment Group and Universal.  
'It wouldn't be possible without the support of the various parties. When we spread the word, we received many welcoming responses,' says Chan. 
'Of course we wanted to be part of it. It's Hong Kong's own music festival,' says Eman Lam Yee-man  of local electric-pop duo At17,  who will perform with her longtime friend Ivana Wong Yuen-chi  and Denise Ho Wan-sze.  The trio  will sing each others'  songs in remixed versions. 
'We've always wanted to do a crossover project, it wasn't until  now that we finally got the chance,' says Lam. 
 Other musicians reunited for the event are Canto-pop singer  Edmond Leung Hon-man, Dicky Cheung Wai-kin,  Andy Hui Chi-on  and William So Wing-hong,  who will perform a 40-minute stand-up comedy routine featuring their  popular hits.  The four last performed together  almost a  decade ago. 
'If it  were not for this show, we might not have had this reunion. In most solo concerts, I can only sing my own songs. I really appreciate the opportunity,' says Leung. 
 For most of the musicians,  the event  is an  opportunity to showcase different styles of  music in one  show. 
'This is mutually beneficial for the audience and us  musicians,' says Lam. 'We can reach out to people who haven't heard about us before. Those who just come to see their idols might  well fall in love with our music. We can attract more people with a lineup like this, which will allow emerging artists to show their talents,' she adds. 
For Lam, diversity  tops  her list for an ideal music festival. 
'It should be like a melting pot, allowing different kinds of musicians to showcase their talents on stage,' she says. 'Music can be a powerful and inspiring force.'  
By including musicians from  abroad, the organisers plan on making Summer Pop a staple  event  on the regional music  calendar. 
'Communication is important for different cultures to prosper. What's a better platform than this music event?' asks Chan. 
Asked  why mainland and Taiwanese singers make up only 20 per cent of the lineup, Chan  says: 'We were really pressed for time. Many artists overseas who wanted to join had already planned their schedules and couldn't make it.'
According to Chan, this lack of time was the most challenging part of staging the event. 
'It's very time consuming to meet each performer's schedule and even harder to arrange time for group rehearsals. Lots of back-and-forth was involved in the negotiation process. We had to cancel a couple of programmes because of that,'  she says.  
Singers who couldn't make  it to the rehearsals will perform   in solo mini-concerts that will  each last about 40 minutes, singing their popular hits. Performers in these segments will include  Taiwanese Mando-pop diva A-mei Chang Hui-mei.  
'This is just the beginning and will lay a foundation for future events,' says Chan. 'If this is a success, we hope to make Summer Pop an annual event. My best hope now is that the  concert will run smoothly and that it will make some noise  on the regional music scene so people will come back next year.' 
Summer Pop - Live in Hong Kong, Sat-Aug 16, 3pm, AsiaWorld-Arena, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau. HK$350, HK$500, Urbtix. Inquiries: 2111 5999



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