Changjiang International Music Festival 2015
Another May holiday has come and another Changjiang International Music festival has passed. This is the fourth Changjiang International music festival to have taken place in Zhenjiang China and by far the most professional and best sounding one to date.
This years festival took place over two days, with the Scorpions closing day one and Demi Lovato closing out day two. The festival had two stages this year, with one stage being produced and managed by Kun Music and other stage by BagsLive. Kun Music stage was mostly for metal and rock music while the bigger stage that was managed by BagsLive was for Chinese pop/folk music and the two big international stars, Scorpions and Demi Lovato.
The first day of the festival was great, with perfect weather and a strong line up playing at both stages at the festival. Some of the best performances from the Kun Music stage was Evocation, Octopuss. Both bands were excellent on the first day of the show.
Evocation sounded really good on stage, maybe the best I have heard the band sound before.
I had never heard of Octopuss before the festival and I was a little surprised that they were the headliner at the Kun Music stage, but these guys really rocked. They reminded me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the small crowd that came to see them, really had a good solid show to watch. It is such a petty that most of the crowd had gone to the other stage by then to get ready for the Scorpions because they really did miss something special.
At the International stage, some of the best performances of the day came from 二手玫瑰(Second Hand Rose) RapScallions who opened for Scorpions.
二手玫瑰(Second Hand Rose) played early in the day but they still drove the crowd crazy. The pop of the crowd when these guys play is insane and they are by far one of the most professional bands in China at the moment.
The fans of 二手玫瑰(Second Hand Rose) are insane. They dress up, sing and mosh like crazy when they are on stage. It is great to watch.
RapScallions performed a good set, but like most openers, most people were all just waiting for the main act. By the end of the RapScallions set, there was over 50,000 people waiting for the Scorpions to take the stage.
The Scorpions performed for over two hours and blew the crowd away with their amazing songs. They showed the crowd what a rock show should be and put many other previous foreign stars shows to shame. It was an amazing end to the first day of the festival.
Day 2 came and so did the rain. When it rains here in Zhenjiang China, the Changjiang Island turns into a muddy swop. The strong crowds from the day before disappeared as the drizzle and cold wind blew in.
The crowd that did come on the second day, were very passionate and got to see some good performances. At the Kun Music stage, the best performances were by British Band Cypher 16 and Chinese Metal band 萬重乐队 Mega Soul.
Cypher 16 gave a really strong performance to what turned out to be a really small crowd.
萬重乐队 Mega Soul is one of the fast rising bands in China right now, and they always rock the crowd. Every time I shoot them, they are simply outstanding.
At the International stage, the conditions were even worse than the Kun Music stage as there were giant puddles of water that never disapeared. The fans were ankle deep in mud and shit, but they stayed the whole day wait for Demi Lovato. The best performces at the stage were 马頔 and Madison who was opening for Demi Lovato.
Madison who was only 16 years old at the time, showed great maturity on stage and gave a solid performance on stage to many many many love struck Chinese boys, who screamed their undying love for the young starlet.
After all the other acts were finished, it was time for Demi Lovato and by then it was freezing cold. All the photographers were pushed back to the sound board and I was shooting with a 600mm lens, handheld in the freezing cold. I am amazed that I got any pictures in focus to be honest. It was a tough shoot, cramped with no space to move, standing angle deep in mud.
Demi Lovato gave a good performance and the crowd loved her. I was simple to cold and miserable at this stage to enjoy the show but think back on the show now, I did enjoy it. The end of Demi Lovato show, also brought the end of the Changjiang International Music Festival for 2015. Each year, Changjiang International Music Festival gets better and better. I cannot wait to see what the show will have in store for us in 2016.
On a side note, you will see that all the pictures of Demi Lovato still have my watermarks on it. That is simple beacause so many websites and media outlets in China tried to steal my pictures of her already. I don’t really want to use my watermark on my own personal site, but photo theft is a real serious problem here in China, and most media outlets think copyright means Copying something for free is right.
Shaun.
https://www.meanbearmedia.com/2015/05/changjiang-international-music-festival-2015