Princess Nokia, Thurston Moore in eclectic line-up at Shanghai Concrete & Grass Music Festival
The names may not be as big as in previous years due to bureaucracy and indecisive artists, but tickets are selling fast and the third edition of the festival promises something for everyone
Name changes, headliner no-shows and torrential downpours. As it approaches its third year, Shanghai’s Concrete & Grass Music Festival may still be in its infancy, but already it’s had a colourful history within the context of mainland China’s general climate of censorship and uncertainty surrounding live music events.
It might not be a line-up with as many eye-catching names as previous editions, but it’s a collection of artists that rewards exploration. And in many ways, it’s quite an achievement that the festival is being held at all.
Beijing indie rock band Carsick Cars reform for Shanghai music festival, but jury’s out on permanent reunion
After Split Works’ Black Rabbit Festival was cancelled in 2012 due to concerns over “the politically sensitive September/October period”, the Shanghai and Beijing-based promoters got back into the festival game in 2015 with Echo Park. Headliners included My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way, pop singer Kelis and hip-hop duo Black Star (Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli), though after Bey (previously known as Mos Def) pulled out at the last minute, the festival ended with Kweli taking to the stage alone.
Having rushed to get word out about the now-named Concrete & Grass Music Festival and its headliners Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, The Cribs and Hong Kong’s Edison Chen, the organisers suffered a further setback when two typhoons swept through the region in the preceding days. The effects of the first essentially undid their initial site preparations overnight, while the second brought heavy rain to the festival on Saturday night, curtailing the second stage’s schedule.
Massive Attack, Feist to headline Hong Kong’s Clockenflap festival 2017
You’d think they were due a break this year, but a slower-than-usual permit approval process combined with indecision from some artists meant that the line-up was only fully released on August 29, a month later than planned.
“I probably say this every year, but this year has been the hardest,” says Split Works managing director Archie Hamilton. “Just when you think it’s going OK, the weirdest things come out and smash you over the head,” he adds, noting that this year’s line-up has lost a number of its bigger acts due to a combination of the Ministry of Culture and last-minute fee changes.
On the plus side, Hamilton says that so far they’ve sold more tickets than last year in presales alone. The line-up will naturally always play a crucial role in its appeal, but at least some of those sales can be attributed to Split Works’ determination to build an atmosphere beyond just the names on the bill.
“Something we’ve believed in from the start is that the best festivals are more than just the music,” says Hamilton. “Internationally now, the most interesting festivals are more like a getaway.”
Wang Yan, who until recently worked at Shanghai gig venue Mao Livehouse and has attended the festival for the past two years, says its atmosphere attracts a different kind of crowd. “They support alternative music, the food is great and you can lie on the grass,” she says. “If I could only go to one music festival a year, it’d be Concrete & Grass,” she adds, describing the event idealistically as “something of a haven for individuality and independent youth”.
Clockenflap 2017: Higher Brothers bring Chinese hip hop to Hong Kong and the world
Not that the festival is completely immune from the lure of the mainstream. Edison Chen was joined on the bill by J-pop outfit Sekai no Owari last year; this year the pop box is ticked by Japanese act Radwimps, who filled Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena in July. “You have to get bigger or you die as a festival,” says Hamilton. “And once you get to a certain level there’ll always be haters.”
He argues that Concrete & Grass’ level of commercialisation is still relatively low compared to some of their competitors. “We’re not trying to rinse this thing,” he says. “We keep the VIP minimal and we work really hard on keeping prices reasonable – we genuinely want people to have a good time.”
Shanghai-based producer MHP, who has performed at festivals across the country (including last year’s Concrete & Grass), sees the event as offering something different musically, describing it as “relatively cutting edge” compared to other festivals in mainland China.
“It’s closer to an alternative music festival abroad,” he says. “I don’t mean in terms of the size of artists they’re bringing in, but in trying to present novel, interesting acts. Most other festivals here are stuck in the mode of not really thinking about different types of music; Concrete & Grass has definitely set a benchmark in certain aspects for other Chinese festivals.”
Whether that’ll be enough to pull in the crowds that the festival’s organisers desire – and whether the weather will play along – remains to be seen.
Concrete & Grass Music Festival 2017, Sept 16-17, Shanghai Rugby Football Club, Pudong, Shanghai. From 280 yuan (US$43) for one day and 460 yuan (two-day pass)
