The Village Voice recently posted a review of Modern Sky Festival’s first foray into the U.S., representing (perhaps) a major development in the export potential of China’s domestic talent.
The feedback on the acts is generally positive, however we were sad to read that the role of the majority of the Chinese bands that had traveled so far to be there was simply supportive. The bill – which featured Re-TROS, Zhang Xuan and of course Second Hand Rose (see interview feature here, part 2 here) – saw the majority of Chinese acts play in the early hours of each day. The review puts it quite concisely:
“If the purpose of Modern Sky was to expose American audiences to popular Chinese acts, the festival could have benefited from more integration. Instead, it became a study of divisions”
*Look out for our own review of the festival, coming shortly.*