Pharrell Williams, Carly Rae Jepsen, Phoenix, and More Slated for Inaugural Grammy Festival Beijing at Changyang Park, Apr 30

The capital's music scene has been rocked by some major news: major marquee acts like Pharrell Williams and Carly Rae Jepsen are slated to perform at Changyang Music Theme Park on Apr 30 for the first-ever Grammy Festival Beijing. 

The announcement was made via a social media post today (Mar 2). The eclectic lineup also includes chart-topping pop-rockers OneRepublic (of "Apologize" fame), early 00's soul star Macy Gray, critically acclaimed French alt-rockers Phoenix, and up-and-coming dance-pop diva Daya.  

Seeing as Beijing only intermittently hosts acts of superstar status (due to numerous strict policies and hurdles), the announcement that so many big names were coming at once has certainly come as a surprise. We first heard word about the fest this past August, when Billboard reported that The Recording AcademyTM, in a move to expand the brand of its famed Grammy Awards, announced the "newly created GRAMMY Festival, a touring, world-class live music experience that will debut in China in 2018." Their partners in this big-ticket endeavor were also on hand: BRAVO Entertainment, China Music Vision Ltd, along with co-organizers like Beida Jade Bird Music Culture Industry Group, Guo Guang United Cultural Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Weibo and Toutiao. 

Local music industry insiders tell the Beijinger that they were floored to hear the festival would take place in Beijing in just under two months time. They instead expected the event to happen in Shanghai, which has laxer policies that lure big names far more frequently. Case in point: soul star John Legend will perform in the Pearl City next week without making a stop in Beijing. Bruno Mars, meanwhile, has two shows in Shanghai already booked with a third one rumored to be arranged soon, while Beijingers still hold out hope that he might put on a last minute gig here. 

Indeed, such frequent snubbing has left few music buffs in the capital ever expecting a gig of the Grammy Festival's ilk to come their way. Better still: the festival boasts households names and a varying lineup that caters to everyone from discerning music nerds (who will surely flock to see Phoenix) to more mainstream inclined fans (who have been singing along to Pharrell's "Happy," and Carley Rae Jepsen's chart-topping hits for ages now).

Tickets can be purchased via Damai or 247tickets and cost RMB 580 presale or RMB 880 on the door plus an optional RMB 50 for a return trip bus from either Guomao or Wudaokou.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: The Urban Silhouette, That Grape Juice, Grammy Festival Beijing