TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Music Festival (台灣祭) will take place over the Tomb Sweeping holiday weekend in Kenting on April 4–6.

With fewer holiday weekends this year, the Pingtung County Government is enticing college-aged youth to Kenting with a free concert featuring 50 musical acts across multiple stages. Topping the musical line-up are heavyweight acts such as Fire EX. (滅火器) and Amazing Show (美秀集團), per UDN.

Held for the fourth consecutive year, the Taiwan Music Festival carries on the tradition of sun, sand, and music that is often associated with spring break, a popular rite of passage for many U.S. college students. In Taiwan, the tradition was popularized by Spring Scream (春吶), which took place in Kenting from 1995–2018.

An estimated 1 million people attended the Taiwan Music Festival in 2023 according to Pingtung County Government. The most important change this year is an artist exchange program with the Coming Kobe Festival in Kobe, Japan.

The inaugural artist exchange will feature the Osaka-based pop-punk band Saboten, known for the song "Scenario," the end credit music for the anime television series, Naruto.

A round-robin “battle of the bands” competition involving 30 Taiwanese musical groups will be held to determine the band that will appear at the Coming Kobe Festival in May. A public warm-up activity is scheduled for this weekend (March 2–3), featuring performances from finalists in the competition at Pingtung Park.

For more information about this weekend’s musical competition as well as complete lineup information for the Taiwan Music Festival held later in Kenting, visit the festival’s Facebook page.