With the festive season in full swing, local record label 89268 is throwing its own series of celebratory parties - and everyone's invited.
Four shows - tonight, tomorrow night, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - offer a musical bonanza with 17 acts performing over the four dates.
Revellers can expect to see the full spectrum of music - all at the Fringe Club - from inLove's acoustic musings to hip-hop courtesy of MC Snake, Unixx's indie grooves and Hard Candy's post-punk pop.
Grouped together under the banner Come Out and Play II, these shows complement 89268's three-CD Come Out and Play compilation, featuring 39 local artists, which was released in October.
'These shows are all part of the campaign,' says 89268 marketing director Vivian Yeung Wai-yan. 'Christmas is a suitable time for us to all come out and play. We invited the bands on the album to play at our shows. We put no restrictions on style. We just want the bands to do what they do best.'
The concept is simple. 'A time and place for like-minded musicians, friends and fans to all enjoy themselves,' says Yeung.
Hard Candy vocalist-guitarist Yan Yan Tong says music lovers don't really need an excuse to catch live shows over the holiday period, 'but for those who rarely go to local shows, it's a good chance to come out and see some bands.' The artists are divided over what this time of year means to them. 'It's a time for rest,' says MC Snake. For Siu Wu, vocalist for metal outfit Sanskrit, December is 'a time to relax at work, and come out and play with friends'.
