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This article is by Jennifer Conrad, the music editor of Time Out Beijing. You can see her photos of the festivals on her Flickr page.

Over the past two weekends, Beijing played host to three major music festivals, showing the breadth of the Chinese music scene. Local independent music label Modern Sky put on the Strawberry Music Festival, which has an indie-rock bent featuring Chinese acts and a smattering of international bands. The Midi Festival, organized by Beijing’s Midi School of Music, has a more rock ‘n’ roll vibe, a punk- and metal-heavy lineup, and an eleven-year history. And the smaller Ditan Park Folk Festival was launched just last year by an independent promoter who also owns a guitar shop in Beijing.

The day broke gloriously on Saturday, May 1, the first real day of spring and the first day of the Strawberry Music Festival. Over the three-day festival in Tongzhou (an eastern suburb of Beijing), Chinese hipsters broke out their best outfits, sporting flowing skirts, floppy hats, and checkered shirts. Across six stages, bands ranged from student acts to the best of Chinese independent bands to heavy metal to former Super Girl contestants. (Modern Sky founder Shen Lihui was also a judge on the TV singing competition Super Girl.

As I arrived, The Dancers, a new group made up of former members of some of Beijing’s top rock bands, were on the main stage offering a mix of punk and early rock ‘n’ roll. Later, local electro-rock art band Pet Conspiracy sent giant red balloons bouncing into the audience and had Brazilian drummers SambAsia join them onstage. Longstanding hard-rock band Tang Dynasty closed out the day with their mix of heavy metal and Tang Dynasty–era poetry.

On the second day, I started at the smaller stages watching bands like Cassette on the School of Rock Stage (a stage for university bands). Cassette’s sound mixes grunge and synth with a female singer straight out of a lounge act—it’s a weird combination, but I give them credit for trying something new. Beijing post-punk band Re-TROS gave one of the day’s most compelling performances as the sun went down, playing their intricate songs that often feel like they have a bit of Queen or glam David Bowie sprinkled in.

Despite long lines and chronic shortages at the bars, the atmosphere remained festive, and of the three festivals, Strawberry boasted the strongest lineup—there were almost too many good bands to choose from.

Across town, the Midi Festival took up residence May 1-4 in Haidian Park, in Beijing’s university district. Midi has the reputation for being the festival that’s really about the music (detractors say Strawberry is more about fashion), and several of the bands on the bill, including Miserable Faith and Brain Failure, have been playing the festival for most of its decade-plus history.

When I arrived on May 3, the vibe immediately felt different and more organic than Strawberry—more people camping out and a big flea market of small-time vendors. The scene was more punk and rock ‘n’ roll, with lots of kids wearing black slogan-ed T-shirts.

Mongolian folk and rock band Hanggai, one of the best live bands in Beijing, put on the most exciting show of the day, with a high-energy set that had the crowd dancing and kicking up a cloud of dust. It was definitely the only time I’ve ever seen people moshing and crowd-surfing to a folk band.

While visiting Swedish pop-rockers Sahara Hotnights played on the main stage, I slipped over to another stage to watch CMCB ("Chinese MC Brothers"), a rap-metal group that drew a huge audience reaction. After a quick dance at the electro stage, it was time to go home.

On the final day of the festival, the crowds at Midi were thinner—most people had to go back to work on Tuesday. But all six stages hosted some solid acts, with the folk stage transformed to a hip-hop stage for the day.

The rain that mostly held off all weekend broke through in the late afternoon while I was watching Free the Birds, a local synth-heavy post-punk band. And the power was cut as soon as lightning appeared on the sky.

Some people jetted immediately, while others huddled in covered areas and waited out the rain. When the downpour stopped, several bands rallied and played improvised acoustic sets on the main stage, aided by flashlights and megaphones. Hundreds of fans crammed toward the stage and sang along.

It was chilly and impossible to hear from the back, but one of the sweetest moments of any of the festivals, when everyone came together, straining for a little music.

This weekend, the much smaller Ditan Park Folk Festival provided a chilled-out end to festival season. In Beijing’s Ditan ("temple of earth") Park, this festival featured just one stage on which a range of Chinese folk bands played along with international acts spanning styles from traditional Irish music to bluegrass to Afrobeat.

The Redbucks, made up of American expats living in Beijing, played sweet bluegrass in the late afternoon, with two banjoes, mandolin, stand-up bass, guitar, and members trading vocal duties. A little later Zhang Quan, a member of seminal Chinese folk act Wild Children, sang and played the dombra, a stringed instrument from China’s northwest.

While two-day Ditan Park Folk can’t compete with the other festivals in terms of the lineup and number of attendees, it definitely had the best atmosphere, lots of grassy space for spreading out blankets, a relaxed crowd, and cheap drinks.

Over five days—and counting—of festival-going, it’s clear that the Chinese music scene defies easy categorization. There are some bands that slavishly follow Western styles, and some fans who care more about looking cool than what the bands sound like. But there are also people who will stand in the rain for an hour to catch an unplugged song or two from Brain Failure. There are super-cheesy acts, and there are folk bands pulling from Chinese musical traditions to create a sound that’s totally unique. But ultimately, the Chinese music scene is too big to cover in one article—it’s something you have to check out for yourself.

Other reviews of the music festivals:
China Music Radar: Art vs Commerce – a review of the Beijing festival weekend
The Beijinger: Posts on Strawberry Festival, MIDI Festival.