Don’t miss the six biggest concerts in Hong Kong between now and February
There’s something for everyone in the first two months of 2016, from the ‘pride of Taiwan’, A-Mei, to South Korea’s Rain, a fast-rising English boy band, and biggest of all, the Material Girl’s city debut
Now that the calendar has turned to 2016, the dry spell for live music we always see over Christmas and New Year’s Eve has broken. The first two months of the year will witness a host of concerts by A-list performers – and here are six you shouldn’t miss.
A-Mei
Chang Hui-mei, the pop songstress known as the “pride of Taiwan”, is marking her 20th year in the music business with a world tour. It started in Taipei with a mammoth 10 shows last April (which all sold out in less than 15 minutes), and after Hong Kong she will play cities including Tokyo, London and Melbourne.
January 16-17, 8.15pm, Hong Kong Coliseum
HK$380-HK$980, Urbtix
WATCH A-Mei sing Hostage
Diana Krall
The five-time Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist will be returning to Hong Kong after an absence of more than 10 years as part of a world tour to promote her latest album, Wallflower. The album is a collection of songs from the late 1960s to the present day that inspired Krall in her early years.
January 24, 8pm, AsiaWorld-Expo
HK$480-HK$880, HK Ticketing
WATCH Diana Krall sing California Dreamin’
The Vamps
With the future of One Direction in doubt, maybe it’s time for a new boy band. Like One Direction, The Vamps are a bunch of pretty young English boys, who shot to stardom in 2012 after uploading several cover songs to YouTube. Debut album Meet The Vamps went multi-platinum in a number of countries and a second release is due out soon.
January 28, 8pm, AsiaWorld-Expo
HK$488-HK$888, HK Ticketing
WATCH The Vamps’ music video Rest Your Love
Rain
Eighteen years after his debut, superstar South Korean singer Rain maintains a devoted fan base and will be returning to Hong Kong for the first time since 2009 as part of “The Squall” Asia tour, which also takes in China, South Korea and Thailand. These will be his first large-scale gigs since his military service ended in 2013 – and his hordes of female fans will be more than ready.
January 30, 8pm, AsiaWorld-Arena
HK$388-HK1,680, HK Ticketing
WATCH Rain sing Diamond Lover
Madonna
This is the big one, folks – the queen of pop is finally coming. Tickets to Madonna’s two debut concerts in Hong Kong set local records when they all sold out within 30 minutes last year, showing that the Material Girl still sparkles 33 years after releasing her first album. The Rebel Heart Tour began last September and will take in 64 cities before it wraps up in Brisbane on March 27
February 17-18, 8pm, AsiaWorld-Arena,
HK$688-HK$11,888, sold out
WATCH Madonna on the Rebel Heart Tour
Mika
After his planned concert last year was cancelled due to illness, Hong Kong’s favourite Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Mika is finally making his return to the city. He will be performing an intimate live set at The Vine Centre in Wan Chai as part of a European and Asia tour in support of his latest album, No Place In Heaven. Tickets are very limited, so think quick.
February 22, 8pm, The Vine Centre, 29 Burrows Street, Wan Chai
Watch Mika sing Talk About You
