Get Your Eye and Ear Holes Around This Weekend's Sizzling Burger Fest Entertainment

There's still time for you, your buddies, and your expanding belly to grab advance tickets to this weekend's Beijing Burger Fest at Galaxy Soho, 11am-8pm, or simply drop by and nab RMB 25 tickets on the door.

By now, you're well aware of the mounds of burgers, beverages, and sides that await you at this weekend's Route 66-themed Burger Fest. You may have even signed up for your chance to win over RMB 2,000 in prizes during either our Best Buns or Air Guitar contests held on both Saturday and Sunday. But we can still hear you asking, "What about the entertainment when I'm not stuffing my face silly or winning mammoth prizes by shaking my butt?!" That's where this little blog comes in.

As we enter our ninth Burger Festival, the Beijinger knows better than anybody that eating burgers for two days straight is tough business, which is why entertainment can be equally as important; to help you digest, keep you moving, and to occasionally distract you from the unfettered amounts of sizzling meat and veggie options on offer. This year, we've compiled our Burger Fest line-up with all of this in mind, selecting five bands who we consider to be some of the best show-stoppers in town, spanning everything from Cuban dance to straight up rock 'n' roll madness. Without further ado, here's what you have to look forward to:

Read on for what to expect from each of the acts:

Soul Shake

Opening the live entertainment on both days of the festival is Soul Shake, resident band for the ever-lively Beersmith brewpub in CBD. Never ones to shy away from a little glitz and glamor, these guys are the heart and soul of the party whenever they hit the stage thanks to their fusion of rock, pop, funk, and dance. There's no better way to put you in a party mood for the rest of the fest.

The Great Buffalo Blues

Part funk, part rock, and a lot of rollicking R&B the four-piece Great Buffalo Blues are a force of nature and are as big in stature as they are in sound. It's certainly not easy to follow up a band as "on it" as Soul Shake but these would be the guys to do it and they promise that anyone who makes it to the festival by early afternoon will be rewarded with a high-energy backdrop for their burger gorging.

The Sons of Thunder

Another band of merry rock-makers, The Sons of Thunder are a cover band deeply indebted to the heavy-hitters of everyone worth their salt between the 1970s (think Led Zep to Queen) all the way up to the 2000s. You better be sure that they'll also have a sizeable crowd in tow, going wild with nostalgia and the band's unique take on the classics.

The Flip Side

Billed as "Beijing’s only live disco band," The Flip Side perform iconic, upbeat classics from the likes of ABBA, Chic, The Bee Gees, Kool and the Gang, and many more. They're also a versatile bunch, boasting members from the UK, USA, and China, all united by their one goal: to get you up and dancing. That means that at every stage they hit, you can expect to be jumping before you know it.

Sazon

Slowly becoming a mainstay at our festivals, we can't help but keep asking Sazon back for one more dance. Their Cuban moves, honed at their Shangdu Soho-based dance school, are absolutely infectious, as evidenced by the hordes of (only slightly inebriated) people dancing until the very last moment of our previous events. If you make it to the end, we dare you not to join in.

Haven't seen what's on offer food-wise at the fest? Get everything you need to know, right here.

Photos: Uni You, courtesy of the bands