Spring Scream (春吶), Kenting, Taiwan (April 2015)

For some reason, attending Spring Scream in Kenting (墾丁) has always been on my bucket list.  It's like Lollapalooza in the US, Clockenflap in HK.  It so happened Spring Scream was happening the same week as Easter, which means, I only need to take 1 or 2 days off to enjoy a short trip!  Found cheap plane tickets with Cathay, booked my hostels, and off I went!  (Not to mention Yayoi Kusama was having an exhibition at the Kaohsiung Cultural Centre at the time!)  Taiwan is always a no brainer for me when I only have 4 or 5 days of vacation.

Spring Scream is a multiday event happening in the Kenting National Park near the Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻灯塔).  You can buy the multiday ticket which allows you to camp inside the park.  Since I just want to experience the music, I only got a 1-day ticket.  Don't confuse it with the Spring Wave Music and Art Festival (春浪音樂節), which is performed by the mainstream Taiwanese singers (although I also really like some of the singers there, the Spring Scream is the original music festival in Kenting).

Needless to say, with two festivals happening on the same weekend (and a holiday weekend) in a normally small and laidback beach town, this is one of the busiest time of the year in Kenting.  Hotels are expensive and hard to come by.  The popular ones are usually fully booked months in advance.  The main streets of Kenting is busy and crowded.  Not the best time to visit if you are not interested in the music festival in my opinion.  Yet, it is also another way to enjoy Kenting :)  Personally, I love Kenting and I can't wait to return.  People are extremely friendly here with their southern hospitality.

So back to Spring Scream itself.  There are 5 stages setup in the different areas of the park.  Each of them is far enough to hear what each group is performing but close enough to walk.  There is a food and bar area.  Shower area as well as bathrooms.  There is even bubble volley if you needed a workout!

 

 

Taiwanese sausage is indeed a must-try, especially the ones made with boar

 

In addition to music, there was also talent shows.  Even though it was not my first time seeing something like this, I was still very impressed!  If you enjoyed the show, just remember to tip them generously.  No matter how many times they have done it, it's still dangerous work and accidents can happen.

 

I didn't know most of the bands but you can still recognize good music when you hear one.  These guys are really good and you can really tell they are very passionate with their music.  A very fun experience indeed and I would recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation to rock and alternative music.  Just remember to bring mosquito repellent!  For more info, you can check out their official website here.