Lifestyle
Musicians and performers are roaring back into action with live shows, open-mic nights and jam sessions in the Chinese capital Beijing following the easing of COVID restrictions.
The recent Christmas and New Year break has witnessed a rich variety of performances being staged across the city, with more on the way ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
Dusk Dawn Club (DDC) is one of the city's hotspots for independent bands. The past three years have been a bumpy ride for the club due to the pandemic, but its owner expects everything to work out in the end.
"This club at Ritan is a new venue for us. The old one was shut down in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, we had a soft opening of this new venue, but there was an outbreak only three days later, which put the live shows on hold. But we still managed to keep the place running in about half a year by offering film screenings and live streams during the World Cup. We mainly cater to young clients. The easing of restrictions came just ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday season. It was a long-awaited moment, but it finally arrived," said Zhang Jincan, owner of the club.
As things gradually return to normal, many musicians hope to share the energy of live music with a wider audience.
"We set up the band at the beginning of 2021. The name of the band echoes our current status -- a new beginning," said Xiaobing, lead singer of band Since TMRW (Since Tomorrow).
"The theme of our live program to ring in the New Year is called 'Still the Original Formula'. We have musicians specializing in jazz, ballads, folk and world music, alternative rock, independent rock and electronic music. Our main criteria for choosing a band is that they must have their own ideas about music. While sticking to the most original and independent music, we still hope to offer a diverse lineup covering a wide range of genres and styles to the audience," said Zhang.
Like DDC, many live houses and other performance venues in Beijing are gearing up to entertain and wow music fans.