Since I was born in Taiwan, you’d think I would have some clue regarding music coming out of the tiny island in Asia but I don’t. After being immersed in English and American culture (as it were), all of my musical experience came from American radio and bands touring the States. Little did I know that Taiwanese music had been hitting Summerstage in the last four years, just minutes away from my home! This fourth year of Taiwanese Waves brought all four female or female-led acts, a great representation in our current environment.
On this beautiful summer evening in Central Park, Summerstage was truly transformed into a Taiwanese festival. The venue was packed with families, children and even grandparents! Everyone seemed to have a blanket, which made maneuvering through the crowd quite a challenge. Somehow, some attendees also managed to bring their own Taiwanese food and picnicked in the crowd!
First on the ticket was Abao, an indigenous R&B singer who has won several Golden Melody Awards with her last album “Vavayan”. Next was an extremely popular singer, One-Fang. During her set, lyrics were projected on the screen karaoke style so the crowd could sing along!
New York based 9m88 (numbers spoken in Mandarin as “jiu em baba”) followed up and impressed us with her jazz influences. Her debut album “Beyond Mediocrity” will be released later this summer. Finally, Tizzy Bac closed out the night with their brand of keyboard based rock.
I’ll definitely have to follow up and check out other artists that have played Taiwanese Waves!
NOTE: all photographs are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography
