The H.O.T. Island Music Festival — an annual festival bringing together musicians and artists from Hualien, Okinawa, and Taitung — will return for its 6th edition in Taiwan and Japan from Sept. 19 through 27.
Taking place annually in different host cities across eastern Taiwan and Okinawa, the music festival offers live concerts, workshops, and forums as well as events on indigenous cultures to promote friendship and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. Both countries belong to the Kuroshio Current cultural belt.
This year, the festival will start off with a warm-up event in Taitung on Sept. 9 before formally launching in Okinawa from Sept. 19 through 27. The lineup on the Taiwan side will encompass Laka Umaw (拉卡‧巫茂), a Golden Melody-winning singer from the indigenous Seediq tribe; Paiwan singer Cemelesai (徹摩); Chiang Chin-hsing (蔣進興), son of the late Amis singer Difang (郭英男); and Yin Yuan Xian (音原獻), an indigenous student group from Taitung University.
On the Japanese side, organizers have selected four music acts that not only have well-established followings but also nurse a passion for Taiwan's culture, particularly the indigenous arts and music of Hualien and Taitung — Soluna and Shaolong To The Sky, Kachimba Iris, Kohamoto Produced ORCH, and Isamu Shimoji.
Working with the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, a special exhibition will also be held alongside the music festival to showcase Taiwanese indigenous crafts encompassing textiles woven from banana fibers, accessories created with tree bark, and furniture made from repurposed wood and driftwood.
Altogether, the 2019 H.O.T. Island Music Festival will comprise a two-day music concert, one crafts exhibition, two music workshops, and a three-day cultural immersion trip. Please visit the bilingual event website at www.hot-islands-music-festival.com for further information.