What the…Folk!? A Celebration of Acoustic Music in Beijing

Words have power, dear reader, and that goes for swearing, too. I have limited tolerance for the cutesy variations on some of the most expressive words that Shakespeare’s mother tongue has to offer, though some exceptions do apply. For instance, f*ck. What the f*ck? More like “What the Folk!?”, please and thank you!

Ha, ha. See, I was only trying to introduce you to one of the most beloved regular music events in Beijing, running strong since 2021. Who am I trying to fool, though. Their shows don’t sell out fast for nothing, so chances are you already knew about them.

Still, I love sitting down for a little chat with those who help making Beijing a little more vibrant and a whole lotta more fun. It’s one thing attending whatever event, but you hardly ever get to meet the organizers behind them.

They’re people like you and I, they have a driving force behind their efforts, and they have plans for the future of their brain child, too. So, without further ado, read this interview with Orlaith Fagan, one of the members of the dream team behind What The Folk!?, and get to know all about one of Beijing’s greatest nights out. They’re f*cking awesome. Ahem. Pardon my French.

Hey, Orlaith! So, first things first, it’s a whole bunch of wonderful people making this happen...
You bet! To begin with, we took over this event from Claire Courtney, our dear friend of Jing&Tonic fame, the true creator of WTF!?. We were sad to see her go, and we so we really didn’t want to see WTF!? come to an end. That’s when myself, Fred Shi, Jun Yan, Dan Taylor and Jake Nimer took over with Claire’s blessings. After all, we had all been involved in one way or another when Claire was running the show. Jake has left for home now too, so it’s the four of us making things work as a really solid team, and we’re delighted that Josh 小一 has just joined us as our host! Each of our roles are essential. Fred is in charge of setting up all the equipment, making sure that the sound remains perfect throughout the show, no matter what venue. Jun is the social media whizz; Dan guarantees we are always having fun and I just kind of do the admin side of things. It works only because all of us are part of it, as good friends who have tons of fun working on it all!

That is really heartwarming and badass. So! WTF is What the Folk!?
Glad to deliver the 101! What the Folk!? is a music event run by a bunch of friends who really love live music (so much so, there’s only one non-musician in the group). Don’t let our moniker fool you —we’ve never constrained ourselves to folk music. Instead, ever since our first show in 2021 we’ve strived for an eclectic mix of genres and sounds that we then present with a more stripped down, acoustic style. Often, our acts will feature electric instruments —think whatever punk, indie or prog-rock band that’s been on the bill. We throw them the gauntlet to strip back their sound, because we think the challenge yields a pretty exciting result. Our perfect blend of musicians will have some of the most known ones in town next to emerging talents that we think nobody should sleep on.

Swell. But tell me, is this some high-brow thing geared for expats only?
So that’s just about the opposite of what we’re about! Nah, we take great pride in WTF!? being for both local and foreign acts and audiences. To this end, our events and content are bilingual, so that everyone and their dog will feel welcome. Making sure everyone feels welcome is super important to us. Indeed, good music will always be our main focus. But, we don’t take ourselves too seriously! We really want each WTF!? event to just be a great night out – a good setting, a warm welcome, banter from the host, drinks deals, you name it. So fun, we don’t want it to end, so often we’ll have after-parties going late into the night filled with cheesy tunes and silly dancing.

Not to miss out, I see! Do you ever have encores from one event into the next?
We want to try and make each event a new experience, so we like to move around different venues each time, and we also have a different line-up for each show. Discovering something new to us every time is too much fun to pass on, don’t you think? Also, we truly believe that Beijing is a city with a lot to offer. So, that’s what we try to replicate in our shows, making friends along the way.

Aw, that’s sweet. Nothing like that enthusiasm that runs across local creative communities here. What’s your next show going to be like?
We’re really excited about the next show! Mark your calendars for Mar 31 - we’re bringing WTF to Ball House and we have a whopper line-up for this one! We have WTFs own Dan Taylor, accompanied by Hadi on Clarinet, as well as the stunning Kim Yang for some beautiful, folky, tunes. Back Seat Bingo, a 7-piece rock’n’roll band, will be stripping back their sound a little and ME.3P.OH, of punk persuasion, will also be softening their sound for the night. I’ve never been to a gig at Ball House before so fingers crossed we can pull it off – it’s a really beautiful place and we had a show organized there in May ‘22 but unfortunately... that never happened, so we’re delighted to make it happen this year!

An event not to be missed. And while we’re there, what’s in store for WTF this year?
We have some amazing bands lined up for this year and we’re excited to host some shows at slightly more ‘off the beaten track’ venues if we can. We are excited about some fun, outdoor events in the summer too so keep an eye out for announcements!

Suppose there’s someone reading this and thinking, WTF I need to have my moment onstage with these fine people. How should they get in touch with you?
Haha, please get in touch! For anyone interested in joining to watch the show or to take part, you can find more info on our official WeChat account: WhatTheFolk 民谣现场, Insta: wtf.org.music or you can e-mail us on whatthefolkbeijing@outlook.com. Feel free to come over and chat with any one of us at any of the events too! We’re always delighted to have a chat or share a beer with everyone and anyone! Hope to see you at the next event!

What The Folk!? is happening on Friday, Mar 31 at the Ball House near Gulou. Doors open at 8pm and show starts at 8.30pm. Tickets are RMB 100 online and RMB 120 at door, and can be purchased via the QR code in the poster.

READ: DADA Beijing Founder Talks Personal Musical Odyssey and Upcoming Shows

Images courtesy of the credited photographers, Shi Xin (lead image)