Music galore at Green Plugged Festival

Published on 2012/05/26 | Source

By Kwaak Je-yup

With the Seoul Jazz Festival having kicked off Saturday a truly crowded summer of music, this weekend will see two more outdoor music extravaganzas.

Some 80 bands are scheduled to perform this weekend at the Green Plugged Seoul at Nanji Hangang Park in the capital's western extremities, while DJs extraordinaire will be spinning from Saturday to the wee hours of Monday at the World DJ Festival in Yangpeong, Gyeonggi Province, up the Han River.

The former's line-up is geared towards Korean rock stars, including the legendary BooWhal, Jaurim, No Brain, Park Wan-gyu and Crying Nut, among others. Up-and-coming bands like Ulala Session, Broccoli you too? and Galaxy Express are also featured. Hip hop fans will have Dynamic Duo and others to their liking.

The latter, under the theme of "Oriental Electronic Paradise", packs well- and lesser-known DJs from here and abroad, with ATB from Germany and Dutch group Dash Berlin headlining. Joining them are the likes of EDM (electronic dance music) powerhouses Freemasons, Scott Pullen and Josh Wink as well as dozens of hip hop acts and rock bands.

With the weather forecast likely to be friendly to such events with tents, mats and sunglasses, music fans and the like should make a weekend getaway out of these occasions.

But hold your horses before you empty your pockets this weekend.

Rainbow Island Festival, which takes place on June 8 and 9 at the privately-owned Nami Island east of Seoul, will present almost 50 live acts. Jason Mraz as well as fellow singer-songwriter Christina Perri will be headlining the two-day festival, with local stars such as Lee Seung-hwan and 015B as well as rising heatseekers like IDIOTAPE and Hot Potato filling up the rest of the weekend.

EDM fans can look forward to Sensation on July 21 and Ultra Music Festival on August 4, both party brands' Asia debut, with some of the world's hottest DJs of the moment like Tiesto, Carl Cox, Skrillex, Fedde Le Grand and Sebastien Leger in the line-ups. The former, known for its all-white party theme, takes place at the KINTEX Ilsan just north of Seoul. The Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, will host the latter festival.

The big boys of the summer music season, Jisan Valley and Pentaport rock festivals loom large as well. Radiohead, one of the biggest selling rock bands of today, headlines the former, which takes places at a ski resort in the Gyeonggi Province city of Icheon. The latter has promised another monster line-up this year, to be announced Thursday. It is held at the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul.

Tickets for Green Plugged Seoul 2012 cost 55,000 to 88,000 won and are on sale exclusively at ticket.yes24.com. Shuttle buses are available from Mapo District Office Station on Line 6. For more information, visit www.greenplugged.com.

Tickets for the sixth World DJ Festival cost 99,000 to 120,000 won and are on sale at selected outlets. The venue is accessible from Yangpyeong Station on the Joongang Line. For more information, visit www.worlddjfest.com.

For Rainbow Island 2012, tickets cost 88,000 to 165,000 won. For more information, visit www.rainbowfestival.co.kr.

For Sensation, go to www.sensation.com/korea. For the Ultra Music Festival, visit www.ultramusicfestival.com. For the Jisan Valley Rock Festival, go to www.valleyrockfestival.com. For the Pentaport Rock Festival, visit www.pentaportrock.com.

jay@koreatimes.co.kr