Zandari Festa – Korea’s largest music showcase festival has just a few days left before applications for international artists are no longer open! This is a great opportunity for bands to get out there and spread their wings.
Two of our staff have been to Seoul for this festival already and can eagerly attest to the quality of this festival. Everything is run smoothly, it’s an excellent way to discover the heart of Hongdae, and it has one of the best line ups of foreign and domestic acts you can find.
Zandari Festa 2016 featured more than 160 bands from nearly 20 different countries. The festival was also attended by countless Korean and overseas music industry staff, including festival representatives from renowned international events such as Primavera Sound, Focus Wales, Liverpool Sound City, V-Rox, Exit, and Tune in Tel Aviv.
There’s no fee to apply for Zandari Festa and the application form can be found here.
We had a chance to hear from two of the festivals biggest returning artists, Lee Taehun of Korea’s own Hellivision and Texas based punk artist Max Reynolds.
What are some of the things that you like best about Zandari Festa?
Lee Taehun: As a musician who gigs regularly, I feel it’s really important that I’m appreciated especially by venues. Zandari Festa has a high level of respect for artists, and all acts are treated like superstars regardless of their size or popularity. The festival is also unique in the sense that there’s nothing else like it happening here. Large-scale festivals with famous bands have their own merits, but for smaller, lesser-known bands, Zandari Festa is a great opportunity to showcase their music to a wider audience.
Max Reynolds: First off, the festival is held in Hongdae, which is my favorite neighborhood in Seoul. The showcases take place in a variety of venues, from small basement dives to larger halls and it’s a lot of fun hopping between all the different live spaces. And it’s a blast meeting up with international friends new and old during the event. I’ve met some of my best friends to this day at Zandari Festa.
Why should international bands come to Seoul for Zandari Festa?
Taehun Lee: The food. It’s amazing! The audiences are also very welcoming and the festival is a great opportunity to meet musicians and music industry professionals from Korea and other parts of the world.
Max Reynolds: By bringing in more and more international acts every year, Zandari Festa is doing a superb job of connecting Korean artists with the international contacts they need to take their music worldwide. The festival is really on the frontline of introducing Korean music and culture to the world. At Zandari Festa, it’s incredibly easy to meet and hang out with other musicians and delegates so it’s a great opportunity for international bands to make new friends and valuable music industry contacts too.
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So if you, or any artists you know have been thinking of taking your show international, we couldn’t recommend Zandari Festa any harder! Get to that application as fast as you can, and see a new part of the world, gain some new fans, and, hopefully like Max, make life long friends!
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Zandari Festa is on lots of social media, check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates look out for artist announcements later this summer.
To learn more about Hellivsion, check them out on Facebook.
And to keep up to date with Max Reynolds you can also see him on Facebook.
Rock 'N Seoul 