2014 Beijing Midi Festival Full Lineup Schedule Announced

      After a three-year hiatus, Midi returns to Haidian District. The 2014 Beijing Midi Festival is officially set to take place from May 1–3 at Beijing Happy Valley Park. This year’s theme: Reduce the Horns. The festival will feature five stages: UN-Tang Stage, MINI-Song Stage, Warring States Stage, Kids Midi Stage, and Jäger-Yuan Electronic Stage, with over a hundred Chinese and international bands and electronic artists performing.

 

    Beijing Happy Valley Park is located in Sujiatuo Town, Haidian District, adjacent to the West Sixth Ring Road, with the Jingmi Water Channel winding along its front, backed by Yangtai Mountain, and bordered by Cuihu Wetland to the east and major scenic spots such as Dajue Temple, Phoenix Ridge, Miaofeng Mountain, and Jiufeng to the west. It is the only comprehensive eco-friendly park in Haidian District and even across Beijing that integrates business conferences, sports, leisure, entertainment, and fitness, covering a total area of over 6,000 acres. For this year’s Beijing Midi Festival, the existing layout of the park will be fully utilized, perfectly combining the outdoor music festival site planning with the advantages of a comprehensive sports and recreation park. The UN-Tang Stage and Jäger-Yuan Stage will be set up in the go-kart racing area, the MINI-Song Stage in the horse racing field, the Warring States Stage next to the off-road motorcycle track, the Kids Stage in the RV camping area, and the camping zone in the ski resort… All efforts are made to offer fans a comfortable, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing live experience.

    This year, the United Nations Office in China and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will collaborate with the Midi Festival for the first time, using music to spread positive energy and give more young people the opportunity to learn about and engage with the work of the UN, further establishing a positive image of the UN among youth. This collaboration will unfold both online and offline, with UNDP aiming to leverage the power of music and social media to raise awareness among the Chinese public—especially young people—about the importance of sustainable development. Promoting environmental consciousness and building a cleaner, greener future, the UN-Midi collaboration will also feature a “UN Stage” during the Shanghai and Beijing Midi Festivals, inviting both domestic and international bands to perform. The “UN Stage” is set to be a highlight of this year’s Midi Festival.

    The full lineup and performance schedules for all five stages of the Beijing Midi Festival have now been released. Among the international acts, the world-renowned British rock band Suede, invited by iconic British-brand MINI in partnership with Midi, will recreate their legendary 20th-anniversary performance of the album *Dog Man Star* held at the Royal Albert Hall. The innovative Swiss percussion ensemble Bubble Beatz will also deliver a fresh and thrilling set. Additionally, Larry Graham & Graham Central Station—led by funk pioneer Larry Graham—will make their first-ever China performance, an unmissable event. Other rare international acts include German gothic metal band Lacrimas Profundere, Israeli headliners Orphaned Land, Canadian hardcore punk legends D.O.A. (who influenced Nirvana and other classic bands), and Korean metal band Naty, among others.

 

    On the domestic front, China’s most representative rock bands—Painkiller (Tong Yang), Xie Tianxiao, and Escape Plan—will each headline on one of the three days. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the scene, must-see performances include those by bands like Yaksha, Mumayi, Reflector, Sound Toy, Sound Fragment, Battleaxe, Liquid Oxygen Can, Subvert M, Suffocation, Honey Three Knives, Shark (from Houhai), Subs, AK47, Sick Pupa, and many more. Also not to be missed are the internationally infused psychedelic electronic rock of NOVA HEART, the crowd-friendly and popular Nan Wu Band, the veteran band Wan Wang who’ve been active for over a decade, the dream-pop band Nüwa formed by former Wooden Push member Song Yu, and the rising post-rock act Ice Cream (featuring the teenage band Watermelon Can).Collected flower petals