Cui Jian to Perform at Beijing Pop Festival

Cui Jian has been added to the line up of acts that, along with Nine Inch Nails, Brett Anderson and the Ramones, will be performing at next month's Beijing Pop Festival. It's a rare opportunity for Beijing fans, who haven't had a chance to catch Lao Cui live since last July's rollicking unplugged performance at the Star Live. According to festival organizers, this will also be the first time that the man in the red cap has ever played at an outdoor concert in Beijing.

Although he’s not really keen on the title, everybody still likes to refer to Cui Jian as the Godfather of Chinese Rock and Roll. He came to prominence in the mid '80s when his bluesy rock backed by that distinctive husky voice shocked and excited a Chinese audience that was just beginning to emerge from an era of patriotic ballads and in the process of slipping into a thick syrupy mire of cantopop.

Despite more than 20 years in the music business, he's managed to avoid being reduced to pedaling nostalgia and instead continues to experiment with new forms and genres. His latest project has seen him collaborate with three foreign DJs (Hyper, Hybrid and Sugar Daddy) to remix some of his classic tracks from the '80s, you can take a listen to the outcome here.

Tickets for the Beijing Pop Festival start at RMB 200 for pre-booked tickets, RMB 250 at the gate and RMB 380 for a two day pass. The event will take place over the September 8-9 weekend at Chaoyang Park.

Links and Sources
Cui Jian’s Website
Cui Jian’s MySpace
tbjblog: Beijing Pop Festival Line Up Announced
Official Beijing Pop Festival Site
Xinhua: Big names to headline Beijing Pop Festival 2007
Motomusic: Cui Jian Remix
Netease: 周杰伦：没有想过要和崔健合作 因曲风不一样
that’s Beijing: People Feature – Just Say No