Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s biggest international outdoor music and arts festival, has revealed its 2023 lineup.
Do you remember music festivals? It was when music lovers would assemble, en masse, to listen to emerging and established artists. Seems like a blast from the past right? Fortunately, Hong Kong’s largest music festival is back March 2-5 with a roster of global and local talents to help you shake off the pandemic in style.
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The much-loved event, which returns to the city for the first time since November 2018, will feature the same full, world-class festival experience that has wowed fans in previous years: a spectacular outdoor environment featuring multiple stages; an eclectic array of top F&B outlets; and a wide-ranging lineup of must-see international, regional and local acts. As before, it will also be a free-standing event, with festivalgoers able to move easily and without restriction between the various stages and attractions throughout the weekend.
Clockenflap is known for bringing the world’s finest acts to the city, and this year is no different. Wu-Tang Clan will be jetting in to play Hong Kong for the first time, while the band behind global smashes such as Lovefool, Erase/Rewind and My Favourite Game, The Cardigans (above) will finally make their long-awaited Hong Kong debut. London-based indie-rock innovators Bombay Bicycle Club will make their triumphant return to Clockenflap 12 years after headlining the festival in 2011 and ahead of their new album. All three acts are coming to Asia to play Clockenflap exclusively and join British rock icons Arctic Monkeys, French synth-rockers Phoenix, Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience, and the German electronic supergroup Moderat.
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Flying the flag for Hong Kong, Clockenflap will welcome a dazzling array of local acts that blur the boundaries between the underground and the mainstream, from Canto-rock giants KOLOR and poetic pop duo per se to indie-pop five-piece The Hertz. They join local rap trailblazer Tyson Yoshi and COLLAR x RubberBand, who will perform together in a one-of-a-kind collaboration.
Showcasing the depth and breadth of the local indie scene, the festival also welcomes veteran post-hardcore survivors The Lovesong, Britpop-channelling Canto-rockers Charming Way (above), as well as Hong Kong hip-hop don YoungQueenz, alt-rockers Arches, and breakout rock act 南洋派對 N.Y.P.D.
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Getting in early on the hottest up-and-coming acts that capture the youth zeitgeist, Clockenflap has added red-hot American songstress Sasha Alex Sloan to a lineup that includes French multi-instrumentalist FKJ (below), Canadian indie darlings Men I Trust, Thai indie-pop duo HYBS, and Cameron Lew’s soul project Ginger Root.
Fans looking to broaden their musical horizons or discover something truly unique will be spoiled for choice at this year’s festival. Impossible to pigeonhole but never less than mesmerising, UK act Black Country, New Road (below) are sure to win legions of new followers with their eclectic sound, as will Japanese experimental rock masters MONO, innovative British jazz quintet Ezra Collective, South Korean hip-hop collective Balming Tiger, and South Korean alt-pop band Leenalchi.
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The best acts from around Asia are once again lighting up the Clockenflap lineup, with Japanese dance-pop favourites CHAI the latest names to be added, joining Japanese chanteuse milet, Thai favourites Three Man Down, Japanese indie-rockers Hitsujibungaku, and South Korean indie boy band Silica Gel.
Tapping into Taiwan’s buzzing music scene, Clockenflap also welcomes the multi-talented singer-songwriter YELLOW 黃宣 and hotly-tipped R&B chanteuse Julia Wu 吳卓源 to the bill, alongside five-piece folk rock band 老王樂隊 (Your Woman Sleep with Others) and acclaimed singer-songwriter LÜCY.
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