Arctic Monkeys to headline Hong Kong’s 2023 Clockenflap music festival: Phoenix, Tyson Yoshi and Men I Trust also on the bill
- British rock band Arctic Monkeys are confirmed as Friday night headliners at the music and arts festival in March 2023, say Clockenflap organisers
- Kings of Convenience, Lücy and FKJ are among others on the bill at the festival, which returns after a four-year hiatus. Early Bird tickets are on sale now
British rockers Arctic Monkeys are set to headline the Clockenflap festival when it returns to Hong Kong in March 2023 after a gap of more than four years, say the event’s organisers.
Indie pop stalwarts Phoenix, pioneering French multi-instrumentalist FKJ, and Norwegian folk-pop pairing Kings of Convenience are among the 30 international and local artists that have so far been confirmed for the music and arts festival.
Clockenflap, which was last held in November 2018, is scheduled to take place between March 3 and 5 at the Central Harbourfront.
This will mark the first time Arctic Monkeys, considered one of Britain’s most important bands of the 21st century, will perform in Hong Kong, according to Clockenflap. The single “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” from their critically acclaimed 7th album, The Car, has been nominated for best alternative music performance at the 65th Grammy awards, to be held in February 2023.
They should top the bill on Friday night, and will be joined by Phoenix, fresh off the release of their 7th studio album, Alpha Zulu, and Canadian dream pop trio Men I Trust, among others.
Saturday’s bill so far includes FKJ, Kings of Convenience, alongside emerging R&B sensation HYBS from Thailand. The up-and-coming Taiwanese singer-songwriter Lücy will also be performing that day.
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Sunday will see German supergroup Moderat, comprising electronic artists Apparat and Modeselektor, trade hands with veteran Japanese post-rockers Mono.
Local acts will also get their time to shine. Hong Kong’s pop-rap darling, Tyson Yoshi, is set to perform on Saturday, while the comparatively grittier hip-hop act YoungQueenz will make an appearance on Friday.
Many more artists, including the headliners for Saturday and Sunday, will be announced at a later date.
Clockenflap is hoping to make a strong return after its break. In previous years, thousands of concertgoers from around the world were drawn to the city by the pull of headliners such as Interpol, Massive Attack and The Chemical Brothers.
American singer-songwriter Halsey and British folk-pop favourites Mumford & Sons were slated to headline the 2019 edition before it was cancelled because of the social unrest which engulfed the city that year.
Subsequent years have seen the festival cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions.
Many of the restrictions the city authorities imposed to fight Covid-19 have been lifted in recent months, however, and Clockenflap organisers say the 2023 festival “will feature the same full, world-class festival experience that has wowed fans in previous years”.
Festivalgoers will be allowed to move freely around the grounds, which will see the return of a variety of performance stages and food and beverage outlets. Art installations and other planned activities are also expected to make a return.
Those who bought tickets to the 2021 edition and did not have them refunded are also in luck – those tickets will be valid for the coming festival.
As for buying tickets to the festival, Early Bird passes are on sale until Thursday, December 22, priced at HK$980 (US$126) for single-day passes, or HK$1,480 for the whole weekend.
