Beijing will be rocking this weekend as the Beijing Pop Festival brings 30 bands to the stages in Chaoyang Park. Performers include foreign superstars as well as many popular, but lesser known foreign and Chinese bands. Saturday features performances by headliners Public Enemy and the New York Dolls as well as Chinese groups such as Joyside and Wang Feng. Sunday’s lineup features Nine Inch Nails (NIN) and the godfather of Chinese rock, Cui Jian (who was banned from performing in Beijing for *** years). Other acts include Brain Failure and bands from countries including England, Russia, Japan, and Sweden.
This type of event, featuring controversial artists like NIN and Public Enemy shows how much China has opened up in the past few decades. However, according to a Los Angeles Times article, this is just the latest in a series of social and economic juxtapositions that have become commonplace as China opens itself up to the world with increasing rapidity. They see government approval as official acknowledgment that Beijing, as it prepares to host the world at the Olympics next year, must expand its artistic offerings if it is to emerge as an Asian cultural capital.
There are still significant challenges to bringing foreign musicians to China since the Chinese government's Ministry of Culture must approve concerts by foreign performers and getting approval is anything but easy. The festival promoter, Rock for China Entertainment, had to submit detailed biographies of each group as well as lyrics to all of the songs to be performed well in advance of the concert. To gain approval for controversial rap group Public Enemy, promoter Jason Magnus described them as band with a ocial conscience and champions of America's black underclass. Somehow I can visualize Flavor Flav (at least in recent years) as a champion of anything other than himself, but who knows what the Chinese will make of him. Maybe the next thing will be a Chinese Flavor of Love TV show airing on CCTV.
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