Rockit has shaken off its debut woes to emerge bigger and stronger than before UNDETERRED BY LAST year's low turnout and financial losses, Rockit - Hong's Kong's first music festival in the vein of Fuji Rock or Glastonbury - is back this year with a bigger and better lineup. The effects of Sars and competition from the government-sponsored Harbour Fest took the wind out of the sails of last year's two-day inaugural event, with only about 3,000 people turning up each day. But the festival won rave reviews from music fans, and auditions to take part in this year's event have drawn so many hopeful bands that the organisers, Matrix Entertainment Group, have extended the festival by a day. 'This is a demand-driven festival,' says Rockit organiser Nimal Jayawardena. 'We are seeing it as a long-term financial investment because you can't measure the loss of an event like this in financial terms. This is something that had to happen.' Rockit will again take over the lawn of Victoria Park to stage rock, pop and dance acts to capacity crowds of 15,000 people a day. Headliners are British indie rockers The Cooper Temple Clause, fresh from supporting The Cure on their Curiosa tour of the United States, and Aqualung, who has been touring with Brit singer Dido. One of the most popular bands on last year's bill, Australian rockers Regurgitator, are back. 'Regurgitator just loved Hong Kong because they thought Rockit was so raw,' Mr Jayawardena says. 'They really want to see something grow from this.' Also on the main stage are the kitsch female Japanese band The 5, 6, 7, 8s, who performed in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume One last year. The trio sing 1950s and 1960s covers as well as their own songs and are known for costumes that are as good as the music - beehive hairdos and leather cat-suits. The marquee stage will host mainly local bands and dance acts chosen in a series of auditions. Mr Jayawardena described the response as astounding. 'We couldn't believe how many bands wanted to audition. We had 50 to 60 bands for nine slots [at Rockit]. If we'd stuck to that a lot of good bands would have been turned away, so we added an extra day to the festival.' Local bands cover every style from rock to punk, funk and rap. As part of the push to support the development of homegrown talent, the Rockit Youth Programme offers coaching to young people starting out in the hope that next year's Rockit will have a designated Youth Stage. Mr Jayawardena describes this year's lineup for dance fans as 'amazing', with every style from techno and drum 'n' bass to hiphop and freestyle rap. 'We've got skateboard legend Kien Lieu from San Diego, Reprazent's DJ Krust, who's won the Mercury Music Award, and DJ Godfather,' he says. Reprazent's DJ Die and MC Dynamite are also on the bill. Also laying down the beats will be Hong Kong's premier scratch DJ Tommy. Rockit Festival October 22 2pm-10.30pm, October 23 to 24 noon-10.30pm, Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. Online three-day passes $350, weekend tickets available at Victoria Park $400, daily tickets available on the day at Victoria Park $250. Daily tickets for Friday are $150. Website: www.rockit-hk.com
