Hong Kong’s indie live-music scene hit by loss of venues, but there is hope for the future as pandemic restrictions ease
- The Wanch had to close, though it is reopening, and another stalwart of the live-music scene, Sense 99, is gone; the pandemic hit Hong Kong indie musicians hard
- But with further relaxations of coronavirus restrictions expected, there is hope for the venues that survived, whose owners share a passion to nurture music
When it was still open, an evening at Hong Kong indie music club Sense 99 meant spontaneous jamming, casual drinking, late-night conversations with the owner and sometimes even a full midnight feast.
“To me, it was like a second home,” public relations consultant Karen Lee says. “The community really comes from just going up there and not having expectations. But somehow you just stay up till three or four in the morning, just because you’re comfortable enough.”
That was how Sense 99 owner Wong Leung-sek and his business partner To Wun ran the music club in Central – as a homey but lively place for music fans young and old to congregate, no matter what walk of life they came from.
But like so many others in Hong Kong’s nightlife scene, it shut its doors in March 2022 because of government restrictions and difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were there for three years, and our lease was ending, so we left,” Wong says. “What’s the point of [continuing] if the pandemic doesn’t let us open?”