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Themed “The Town of Frequency,” the ninth annual NTU Music Festival is aimed to express the students’ post-pandemic ruminations. Whereas last year’s theme “Immortal Island’s Ark” evoked a sense of adventure, this year, in the words of the coordinators Shao-En Lin and Shan-Yu Kuo, “The Town of Frequency” evokes a place where you can come back to rest if you ever grow tired of chasing your dreams.”

Promoting Student Bands

The NTU Music Festival is a student-organized event. Moreover, in the words of the event coordinators, Shao-En and Shan-Yu, “The ultimate goal is to put student bands on stage so that they can build their fanbase and hopefully obtain funding. This is why besides attracting regular audiences, we also invite record labels, music critics, and venue managers to discover the performers through their music.”

Over the years, the Music Festival has encouraged many young people to start a band and make their own music by organizing open calls for bands, inviting audiences to vote for their favorite bands, and inviting professional judges for band selection.

The two bands that reached the finals in this year’s popular vote are “Rain Day Preparation” and “Dinner Salute.” Rain Day Preparation was formed in response to the announcement of the Music Festival. Lead singer Chun-Pai Chen invited Daphne, Yu Houng, and Dino from the same music studio to start a band the very minute he found out about the open call. Dinner Salute was greatly encouraged by the popular vote. Drummer Hsun-Yu Wang said, “I did not realize so many people support us!” Another band that made it to the finals through the judges’ selection was Alpaca Band. Lead singer Melissa gathered music talents from different fields to spark new creations. Drummer Josh said the Music Festival offers them a real venue to make different attempts and breakthroughs in terms of music arrangement as students.

Not Just A Performance But the Formation of A Self-sustaining Band

Shao-En and Shan-Yu are convinced that for a band to make it, besides talent and a good sound, they need an effective agent and marketing. As the pandemic recedes and people go out more, bands have to excel at live concerts.

This in mind, there are two innovations this year. The first one is an outdoor stage for student performances, to facilitate the bands’ entry into the music scene and increase their exposure. Second, some professionals in the music industry are invited to share their knowledge of the necessary skills and know-how. Moreover, music creators are allowed to meet with event planners and discuss further dimensions of the industry.

As to the expectations of the Music Festival, Shan-Yu hopes it will allow student bands of various styles to “sing at their own frequencies, tell their own stories, and let the stories resonate with each other in the Town of Frequency—because this is the gift given to everyone by music.”