New Sounds in Chinatown: Soundfest Outdoor Music Festival for Asian American Voices

August 10, 2007

NEW YORK—(U.S. ASIAN WIRE)— Asian American Arts Alliance, a non-profit organization based in New York City announces their first outdoor music showcase in Chinatown featuring a talent-packed roster of local Asian American performers. The event will take place on Saturday, August 11th (2pm-6pm) and is open to the public free of charge.

This marks the first music fest in Chinatown since the events of 9/11 and it is one of the many symbols of rebirth and rejuvenation in that community since the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Chinatown's Columbus Park has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation and become a lively hub for various arts and cultural activities--Soundfest aims to put both Chinatown and these Asian American musicians on the cultural map for audiences from all parts of this city. The genre of music spans the widest range imaginable, reflecting the diversity of the Asian American community itself-from hip hop to Bollywood to jazz to alternative to traditional, and will touch on everything from politics to identity.

"It's particularly gratifying to go public with an event like Soundfest," says Lillian Cho, Executive Director of the Alliance, which celebrates their 25th Anniversary this year, "when our work is often behind the scenes, helping local artists and groups with grants, promotion, and networking. Chinatown is where a lot of cultural groups got started, so it's meaningful to be here to showcase how far we've come in terms of talent, diversity, and audiences!"

In this inaugural year, Soundfest will be hosted by spoken word artist Kelly Tsai and feature performances by Abstract Vision, Bora Yoon, Chinese Music Ensemble, Falu, Happyfunsmile, Indo Pak Coalition, The Jack Lords, Koba & DJ Boo, Slanty Eyed Mama and Stone Forest Ensemble. This exciting line-up of performers represents some of the most talented artists in the New York City music scene and in the Asian American community. Thanks to support from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisor's The New York State Music Fund, the Alliance offers an exciting opportunity for the Asian American cultural community to show solidarity and support for both its home-grown artistic talent and for Chinatown as the newest cultural destination for NYC.

For more information on the Alliance please visit their website: www.aaartsalliance.org

For more information on Soundfest please visit: www.myspace.com/soundfest_nyc


About the Asian American Arts Alliance

Asian American Arts Alliance is dedicated to strengthening Asian American arts & cultural groups in NYC through funding, visibility initiatives, and access to new resources.

We are a diverse alliance of artists, organizations, and individual supporters who believe that working together as a pan-ethnic, multidisciplinary community is essential to nurturing the development of artists and arts organizations, and to providing a political voice for this community.

We currently serve nearly 60 Asian American arts groups based in NYC. Our members reflect the experiences of the city's growing multi-ethnic Asian population, ranging from new immigrants to 4th generation Asian Americans. They create, present, and produce work in the visual arts, performances, theatre, film and media, music and dance, from the traditional to the cutting-edge.


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