We've been hearing stories on how Midi was better than Strawberry, and I tend to agree because I'd rather see less bands but survive with enough water supplies. Anyway, the May holiday was fun, but it's not finished yet. Since Beijing now only has two seasons (where else in this world will soar to 31 degree from 15 in one day?), we definitly need more varieties in music genres. Ditan Park Music Festival features the city's leading folk and world music artists, with honorable line-ups including Hanggai, The Redbucks, Zhang Quan, Mamer, Afrokoko Roots, Shan Ren, Mademoiselle and many more.

Yeah I know, what is Tongzhou Canal Park (I have the same question with "world music")? Well, before recently moving into the city, Tongzhou was my neighborhood (said with unreasonable pride), as well as the habitat for many rock stars in Beijing - the rent is cheap, the traffic is wild, the streets are lined with real estate agencies selling apartments at ridiculously high prices, and the Batong Line is crowded enough to make the law of inertia powerless since you never fall without holding a thing...I'm gonna stop now so we can go straight to the point. After the premiere last year, Modern Sky is throwing the 2nd Strawberry Music Festival on May 1-3 in Beijing's eastern suburb. With more than 100 acts on six stages, boss Shen Lihui is clearly showing his ambition.

After a year off in Zhenjiang, China's very first rock music festival is back in Beijing at Haidian Park on May 1-4. Last Year, Midi School of Music hosted its own award ceremony, and most of the winning acts will appear on stage during the May holiday. But some of the bands from Modern Sky seem to be missing - whatever happened to solidarity...

News just flashed in that British punk legends Sham 69 have postponed their scheduled Asian Tour, so it seems inevitable to compare this turn of event to what happened to The Buzzcocks last year, however the Midi organizer has informed us that Sham will definitely play on May 1. So keep your fingers crossed and keep your eyes on the Beijinger Blog for an interview with guitarist Dave Parsons.

China Music Valley Festival 2012 ended on Sunday with a sparse crowd staying to catch the headline act. UK pop diva Joss Stone looked decidedly less than impressed that revelers left in their droves as she gave the final performance of the three-day extravaganza in Pinggu district’s Yuyang International Ski Resort on Sunday night.

Time for another rundown of what to see and where this weekend. We've been getting pretty excited for a while now about the China Music Valley Festival. The wait is finally over. If you can handle the journey north to Pinggu District (the organizers are laying on transport from various downtown points in the city, so you really have no excuse not to), then you will be rewarded with a bevy of major international acts, and one or two top domestic turns as well.