It seems like just about everyone in America has electronics or toys imported from China. Yet one thing that has rarely made the jump from China to the U.S. is music. The Modern Sky Festival hopes to bridge that gap. The festival, which is one of China’s biggest, makes its U.S. debut this week, mixing Western artists such as Cat Power with acts from China.
amNewYork spoke with Michael LoJudice, General Manager of Modern Sky Entertainment International.
How did the festival begin?
The first one was in 2007 in Beijing. At the time, Modern Sky was primarily a record label. ? We started putting together a plan to do a music festival. There had been small music festivals in some bigger Chinese cities, but this was a new thing. … Now Modern Sky does over 20 large-scale festivals in cities throughout China.
Why did you make NYC your first stop outside China?
I’m from here, and I know different people and companies we can work with. Also, to do an event in Central Park, it’s a massive deal in China right now.
Do you see this as a cultural exchange?
Not too many people know about what’s going on in Beijing in terms of music and film festivals and big music festivals. ? We hope that by doing this and showing we can be successful, it paints a good picture of what’s happening in China.
