Top 3 Family-friendly Shanghai Music Festivals【家庭音乐季】
Spring is here and so begins music festival season. While Woodstock made music festivals a rite of passage in the West, China’s versions are a much tamer and more family-friendly affair. However, the good vibes remain, so here are the May holiday choices.
JZ Spring
This celebration of all things jazz takes over Jing’an. While international stalwarts like Jesse Harris and Petra Haden will perform Master Hall concerts at Shanghai Centre Theatre, free stages will be set up across venues from Jing’an Temple Square to Jing An Kerry Centre, featuring a wide range of the city’s finest act.
Kid performers will rock the Jing’an Park stage from morning to noon while a family bazaar will feature a wide range of community goods.
> Apr 30-May 2, 10.30am-7pm, free entry. 1) Jing’an Park, 1649 Nanjing Xi Lu, by Changshu Lu 2) Jing’an Temple Square, 1515 Nanjing Xi Lu, by Changde Lu 3) Jing an Kerry Centre, 1686 Nanjing Xi Lu, by Wanhangdu Lu (www.jzmg.net), 4) Master Hall Concerts: Apr 30-May 2, 8-10pm, RMB180-380. Shanghai Centre Theatre, 4/F, Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, by Xikang Lu (www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket)
Strawberry Music Festival
Created by China’s biggest independent music company Modern Sky, Strawberry features five stages stretching across the spacious Expo Park. So far, British electronic rockers The Prodigy and Modestep have been the only acts announced, but past festivals have included Carly Rae Jepsen, Explosions in the Sky, Dinosaur Jr and The Hives.
With the other stages filled with some of China’s most popular indie acts, Strawberry routinely attracts 30,000 visitors. However, the stages are spaced apart and there are big community areas full of local pop-ups peddling everything from clothes and accessories to music. This fun festival may be better suited for you and your teens than with the young ones in tow. Still only five years old, there’s a refreshingly non-jaded feel at the festival, perfect for teens in China wanting to get a slice of a Western style music festival. Modern Sky is getting really good at these things too. For the past two years, they’ve staged music festivals in New York’s Central Park.
> Apr 30-May 2, 1-9.30pm, RMBTBA. Expo Park, 1700 Shibo Dadao (buy.modernsky.com)
Taihu MIDI Festival
China’s oldest music festival returns to their campgrounds in nearby Taihu, providing the rare opportunity for festival-goers to stay overnight for an authentic festival experience.
While headliners haven’t been announced, past festivals have featured the likes of Britpop stalwarts Suede, as well as top Chinese acts like Nova Heart. This year, there will be two rock stages, providing many of the acts coming out of the Beijing MIDI School of Music a chance to rock more than 10,000 people.
There will also be a MIDI Kids Stage that promotes their new program designed to provide musical training to China’s youth throughout the country with instructional books and the only musical certification program approved by the Ministry of Education.
> Apr 30-May 2, 2-10pm, RMBTBA. Taihu MIDI Park, Qiduzhen, Wujiang district
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春天的到来拉开了音乐节季的序幕。当伍德斯托克音乐节吸引着成千上万的西方观众，中国的音乐节季相对来说就要温和得多，也更适合作为家庭活动。但音乐节的魅力依然不减。随我们来看看有哪些适合五一假期出游的活动吧。
浓情静安春之季
一场爵士乐的狂欢将笼罩静安。国际摇滚天王Jesse Harris 和Petra Haden将在上海商城剧院举办演唱会，与此同时从静安寺广场到静安嘉里中心将会遍布免费的摇滚演出，向人们展示着这个城市的艺术魅力。
青少年舞台将从早上持续到中午，他们的热情一定会掀翻静安公园的舞台。舞台旁边还有一个家庭集市，社区居民带着各式各样的商品来售卖，你可以挑选点喜欢的小玩意儿带回家。
*大师殿堂音乐会日期：4月30日——5月2日时间：晚上8点——10点门票：180~380元地址：上海商城剧院，南京西路1376号，近西康路(www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket)
草莓音乐节
由中国规模最大的独立唱片公司摩登天空创办，“草莓音乐节”将五个舞台设置在上海世博公园广阔的空间内。本届音乐人对外发布的音乐阵容只有电子摇滚乐队The Prodigy和Modestep乐队。但Carly Rae Jepsen，Explosions in the Sky，Dinosaur Jr和 The Hives等都曾在往届亮相。
除此之外，其他舞台通常会有中国最受欢迎的独立流行音乐艺人登台，因此“草莓音乐节”通常都会迎来三万左右的观众。只是舞台之间相隔甚远，当中还填塞着各种摊位，兜售着从服装配饰到音乐相关商品，应有尽有。相对于婴幼儿来说，可能这个音乐节的乐趣更适合带上年纪稍大一点的孩子前往。话虽如此，成长了五年的草莓音乐节给人带来的是清新、永不厌倦的魅力，尤其是对想要享受西方音乐节文化的中国年轻人们。摩登天空也的确越来越专业，在过去两年摩登天空已经在纽约中央公园成功举办过音乐节。
地址：上海世博公园，世博大道1700
(buy.modernsky.com)
太湖迷笛音乐节
中国最老牌的音乐节迷笛音乐节将回归它的大本营—太湖迷笛营，提供参加音乐节的乐迷们一次体验纯正音乐节的机会，即难得的可以在音乐节现场过夜。
尽管演出阵容还没有公布，在历届的演出中，英伦摇滚旗帜性乐队suede和中国著名电子摇滚乐队NovaHeart都成了迷笛音乐节的经典。今年将设置两个摇滚舞台并且会向其他并非来自迷笛音乐学校的摇滚乐手开放，让他们也能够嗨翻现场一万多观众。
更为惊喜的是孩迷舞台将推动一个新项目为来自全国的孩子们提供专业的音乐训练，这也是唯一一个有教育部批准的音乐教育认证项目。