By Jocelle Koh

LUCfest, the unique Tainan-based music festival and conference experience will continue this year as planned despite interruptions from COVID-19 posing several obstacles.

This year featuring a mainly local talent pool, the festival features some of Taiwan’s best and brightest including soft rock band Sunset Rollercoaster, electronic femme fatale trio JADE EYES and over 60 acts; pulling off an event that would not be possible in other countries.

Of this years’ festivities, festival director Weining Hung shares the rareness of this opportunity and the challenges she and the team have faced this year:

“We feel extremely privileged that LUCfest can still happen physically in 2020, being probably the only physical showcase festival in Asia. This would not have been possible if not for the hard work and collaborative effort by the Taiwanese government and people that the current situation seems under control… As one of few countries holding a physical showcase music festival in 2020, LUCfest acts an important role for continually supporting an artist’s live career during the pandemic…We have had to face many restrictions this year, like the introduction of mask wearing at all indoor venues. Normally our line up would consist of a third of international acts and delegates flying in from around the world but it is not possible this year. However, we’ll be operating at full capacity with the main outdoor stage accommodating an audience of 10,000! There’s nothing better than the luck of still being able to bring live energy to an audience while people in many countries can only join a music show through their monitor. During these tough times, we’ll try our best to keep the music industry alive in a safe and interesting way.”

Powering through to continue keeping the live music spirit alive through LUCfest, the music and networking forum will present more than 10 showcase performances and 8 professional music forums will be organised during the festival.

Bringing together different countries and musical styles has always been part of LUCfest’s ethos. This year, more than ever the focus is on what Taiwanese artists have to offer, and doing their best to showcase this to the rest of the island, and hopefully continue to do so far beyond.

LUCfest is taking place in Tainan from 27th-29th November 2020. Find up all about the lineup here and ticket information here.