All-China love in at Yen dance stage

May holiday week means big crowds, big lines and big headaches if you’re traveling. But this May Holiday the only mosh pit I want a part of is in front of a stage at the MIDI Music Festival, not in front of a ticket counter. There’s something refreshing and reassuring about the inclusive and familiar open-air music festival context (held out in Haidian Park May 1-4), where experiencing China’s teeming masses is far more pleasant and rewarding. Sometimes the exclusivity and wealth hierarchy in China’s emerging music and club scene can be extremely boring. MIDI, however, as organizer Zhong Sheng says, is all about equality. Big crowds, yes, but none of the buzzkillers: No crap VIP areas filled with Chivas-slurping bigshots, no claustrophobic and intimidating rock clubs, and no menacing guards maintaining a 30 meter distance between performers and the people.

MIDI for me is the mix of rockers, goths, punks, mods, skaters, club kids, and hip hop crews arriving en masse to support their scene. Sociologists and corporate trend scouts must salivate at the sight and sound of China’s youth doing their thing. MIDI checks the pulse of Chinese youth culture and its music, and it’s not just rock anymore. For the second year in a row, a four day frenzy of electronic music and DJs from around China and the world will represent at the Yen Dance Stage. Hosted by Beijing’s O2 crew, it gives Beijing crowds a rare chance to catch DJs from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Chengdu. Mickey Zhang, Yen Co-director and China electronic music veteran, explains, “MIDI is a great chance to expose electronic music to large audiences, so we wanted to represent not just Beijing DJs, but show dance music DJs from around the country and the growth of this music across China.”

Two years ago at the Great Wall Rave I met one of this year’s featured “waidi-Js,” Jerry K, and was stunned to hear he and a few friends had road-tripped all the way from Sichuan for the party. This year, Jerry K and fellow Chengdu DJs, Jerrson and Harry, will represent Southwest-side China, covering electro breaks, progressive and tribal house between them. The crew from Chengdu is psyched to spin. “We love Beijing crowds,” Jerry K says. “They have great energy and are open minded, which makes it more fun for the DJ. Beijing has the strongest dance scene in China, so it’s great to play at such a large festival here. Electronic music in China needs to keep making small, strong steps playing events like MIDI.” The Chengdu guys are also playing after-parties held each night of the festival at Tango, along with other DJs.

MIDI is one giant mash-up of music, people and community, last year drawing upwards of 80,000 visitors, making it easily the largest music festival in China, and, at ¥100 for all four days, the most affordable. For me, MIDI is great music, big crowds, swigging warm beer from communal bottles, kite flying, people watching, kicking around the football and kicking out the jams.