Chinese indie label, The 13 Months, will draw in crowds at Chongqing, Xiamen and Yunnan province, during the coming holiday week. All singers under the label will be on stage, including folk singer Lao Lang and rock power Xie Tianxiao.

"We've certainly put some thought into how to make the event as broad as possible," says Lu Zhongqiang, manager of The 13 Months. He also says that earlier, the organizers would just look at classic rock but now people want the inclusion of other genres such as folk music and hip-hop, and most importantly songs written by local musicians.

"We really want to have a whole stage dedicated to various genres of music that will appeal to all audiences in China," says Lu. "We want people to enjoy the holiday as well as the music."

The Longshui Lake Music Festival, which will be held in Chongqing from Sept 29 to Oct 1 this year, features not only rockers from the mainland but also from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Renowned Chinese rock star Cui Jian will share the stage with nearly 30 singers and bands including Taiwanese Chang Chen-yue and Mavis Fan. The 13 Months will move the stage to Lijiang, Yunnan province on Oct 3. A beach music festival will also be held at Xiamen, from Oct 1 to Oct 3.

(China Daily September 25, 2008)