Six years ago, D-22 was opened to give young bands more opportunities to play. Somehow it became a paradise for punk heads and indie kids. Then Beijing's "noisiest" youngsters also claimed it as their base, conducting their musical experiments there. Most people don't actually go to D-22 very often because of its location, but the club's existence is indubitably symbolic. It's a place where a gig can be delayed for over two hours because the sound system is acting up ... yet no one gets mad or anxious. Facing the end of a year and the end of an era, I don't know which one's harder to believe: that 2011 is done or that D-22 is closing.

At some point, successful underground bands and musicians rise out of the rathskellers to play in mainstream venues, at which point they and their promoters leave behind the tatty bars and Monday night performances. As a result, there's always a need for promoters who truly hang out on the fringes in search for the next big thing.

Pangbianr is the latest promotion to do just that. Founder Josh Feola, who launched the bilingual website on June 1, is aiming for high-detail, low-volume promotion that highlights the city's experimental musicians and artists who really, actually deserve your attention.

Carsick Cars' announcement of their split from the stage of Yugong Yishan on Tuesday came as a shock to many, but band leader Zhang Shouwang revealed to theBeijinger.com today that the band has been struggling with this for months. There is, however, a silver lining – Shouwang is reforming the band with a new lineup.

We are finally having a music festival in the center of the city! Top Chinese bands and musicians (Tang Dynasty, Xie Tianxiao, Carsick Cars, Pet Conspiracy, New pants, and more.....) will gather at Ditan park next week for good music and good fun. The park is adjacent to the north second ring road and close to the Hutong area. The party will last for the whole week, from Monday to Sunday, beginning at 4pm everyday.
 
We have prepared some small gifts for our music lovers: You could win two seven-day tickets to the Max Star Music Festival!
 
To have a chance of taking home this prize you need to send the answer to the following question: What's the name of the Bigger Bang's singer?
 

It seems audiences weren’t the only ones suffering from some of the Strawberry Festival’s shortcomings last weekend. Earlier this week we did a post on the relative merits of Strawberry versus Midi, and the consensus seemed to be that while both rocked, Midi was a much more pleasant experience for spectators, with massive queues to get in and a severe water shortage marring Strawberry for many. Over the past few days some of the artists have had their say, and it seems things weren’t much better behind the scenes down at Tongzhou Canal Park.