Pingtung Hakka Music Festival blends local culture and pop music to attract fans

In recent years, the promotion of local culture in Taiwan has undergone a profound transformation, most notably exemplified by large-scale outdoor music festivals that deeply integrate traditional indigenous and ethnic cultures with contemporary pop music. The “Kuang-Ke Music Festival,” hosted by the Pingtung County Government, made a grand appearance over the weekend at the Liuheui Memorial Park in Neipu Township. Through two days of uninterrupted, high-energy performances and a rich array of peripheral activities, the event successfully drew massive crowds of music fans and the general public. This musical showcase not only highlighted the unique charm of Hakka culture but also shattered external stereotypes that view traditional Hakka culture as overly serious or conservative. By adopting a younger, trendier approach, the festival tightly linked Hakka-language music with contemporary life.

The standout feature of this year’s “Kuang-Ke Music Festival” was the perfect fusion of the stage presence of pop music with deep Hakka cultural roots. Holding the event at the Liuheui Memorial Park, a site of historical significance and symbolic value, inherently carried the meaning of inheriting the Hakka spirit of the Liuheui region. Under the careful planning of the organizers, the singers and bands taking turns on stage delivered diverse musical styles while skillfully incorporating Hakka-language compositions. This cultural expression, mediated through music, allowed many younger generations who were previously unfamiliar with the Hakka language to appreciate the phonetic beauty of Hakka within rhythmically strong melodies, thereby sparking interest in and identification with Hakka culture and achieving a cultural promotion effect that blends education with entertainment.

Beyond the auditory feast of the music, the venue featured carefully planned Hakka-language interactive segments and cultural experience booths. The organizers understood that on-stage performances alone were insufficient to deeply embed culture in people’s hearts; true proximity between the public and Hakka culture required two-way participation and interaction. Consequently, the site offered not only handmade experiences incorporating Hakka elements but also numerous lifestyle-oriented interactive games in Hakka, allowing both adults and children to speak the language in a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. This integration of cultural experience with leisure and entertainment not only enlivened the local arts and culture scene but also turned the Liuheui Memorial Park into a bustling hub of laughter and cultural exchange over the two-day weekend.

The climax of the event was the closing performance by powerhouse vocalist Zhou Hui. As one of the representative vocalists in the Mandarin Chinese music scene in Taiwan, Zhou Hui’s participation injected significant star power and visual appeal into this Hakka music gathering. In the final segment of the event, she performed several classic, widely loved songs and frequently interacted with the enthusiastic audience, pushing the on-site atmosphere to its peak. As Zhou Hui’s brilliant performance drew to a close, the two-day “Kuang-Ke Music Festival” concluded successfully. The festival not only brought a massive influx of people and business opportunities to Pingtung over the weekend but also left a deep impression on music fans, successfully writing a new chapter for local tourism and cultural marketing.

From a long-term development perspective, the successful execution of the “Kuang-Ke Music Festival” holds profound implications for the promotion of multiculturalism in Taiwan. By placing Hakka culture under the spotlight of pop music, the Pingtung County Government demonstrated how to repackage traditional culture using contemporary language, ensuring that local characteristics are no longer just text in textbooks but become a living, breathing contemporary aesthetic. This model not only attracted visitors from other regions to enter Pingtung and get to know the Liuheui area but also helped local Hakka youth regain their cultural confidence. In the future, how to continuously deepen the brand value of such music festivals and further expand their cultural spillover effects will remain a key direction of effort for local governments and the cultural sector.

(Source: Central News Agency)