Most festivals in the United Kingdom take place in a fairly non-descript field. The farmer kicks the cows out by the truck-load, and in come thousands of pilled up revelers, stamping their Huarache-shaped mark on the countryside. So it’s a given, really, that festivals halfway across the world take place in far more gob-smacking settings.

Take, for example, Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival. Over on the harbour-facing West Kowloon island, It’s the sort of place where you can watch New Order inflate the neon love balloon of ‘True Faith’ while, just across the water, the dancing electric tinsel of the Honkers skyline is stacked before you in all its pixel-perfect glory. New York has plenty-good real estate, but only Hong Kong is that densely packed that it turns into building Tetris. Here, the soft immersive wash of Blur’s The Magic Whip was born, and witnessing the place, it chimes quite perfectly. Just look at those skyscrapers above. Aren't they a beacon for the future of festivals in the East?

The thing is, though, whatever the delights of the backdrop, at street level, Hong Kong has never been interested in the rock festival as a thing. Bar a small expat scene, the culture of gig-going just isn’t established, much less of festival-going. So much so that when Clockenflap organizer Justin Sweeting first started, he had to put introductory section on his website for locals, like: ‘What is a festival?’ and ‘How should one behave at a festival?’. All the important questions for newbies to the scene.

Read more at noisey.vice.com

This year's Australian music festival season has begun badly. It started on November 28 when pharmacist Sylva Choi died after drinking MDMA dissolved in water at Stereosonic in Sydney. Then, only one week later at Adelaide's Stereosonic, Stefan Woodward was rushed to the hospital after taking ecstasy, only to die hours later. These cases bring the number of drug-related deaths at festivals to a total of six nationally, since November last year.

So what the hell is going on? With so much information on mitigating drug risks for users, event organizers, and law enforcement, why are people still dying?

A recent study based on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed that per capita Australian adults are leading the world in ecstasy consumption. But in European nations like the Netherlands, where party drugs are notoriously popular, similar stories don't seem so common.

In the case of 19-year-old Stefan Woodward, the police put the incident down to a dodgy batch of pills. This scenario has been of concern for many years. Individuals believe they're purchasing drugs containing MDMA, but instead they contain another psychoactive substance, such as PMA, which is similar in effect, but much more toxic and potentially harmful.

Read more on VICE

With so many music buffs in our country, it is no surprise that music festivals have become an integral part of our culture. We all save up, apply for days off and plan ahead for our favourite music festival.


Well, here's a festival which not only has all the great things about music, but a lot more to offer.

Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival is a four day music festival which brings together its audience in a 'city' made just for music lovers.

Read more at Scoop Whoop

Happy Holidays!

From All Of Us To All Of Us

These are the best songs of 2015, the ones NPR couldn't stop playing, the ones they shared, the ones thy kept close all year long.



Now they share the songs with us. Click on the "Launch the app!" link and you'll hear more than 400 songs in a dozen genres. There's a playlist made up of the very favorite song of the year from more than 50 public radio hosts, a pack of songs that will serve as a little party starter should you be in need, plus selections from veteran musicians and the year's best new artists.

There's so much here worth spending time with, from Adele to Zofo.

The annual Gasparilla Music Festival festival in downtown Tampa will take place in Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park and Kiley Garden Park on March 12th & 13th, 2015, and will feature musical acts from a wide variety of genres on several stages and cuisine from the region’s top restaurants. As part of its mission to support and promote music and education, the organization is involved throughout the year in several initiatives including providing scholarships and instruments to music students.

Read more at gasparillamusic.com