Chinese Authorities Ban Buzzcocks, Futurheads, British Sea Power and Many More Foreign Bands From Playing Modern Sky Festival

BY Jason SchreursPublished Oct 1, 2009

Leave it to Communist China to go and ban foreign bands from playing one of the country's premier underground music festivals. According to the < China Music Radar [via The Daily Swarm], the Chinese authorities will not allow any bands from outside the country to play this year's Modern Sky Festival.

Scheduled for October 4 to 7 in Beijing's Chaoyang Park, the third annual festival was to feature such groups as the Futureheads, Radio 4, Regurgitator, British Sea Power, International Noise Conspiracy and the Buzzcocks, who were set to headline the four-day event. Modern Sky Festival boss Shen Lihui was informed Wednesday morning (September 30) that the bands would not be allowed to play.

It's not the first time China has banned foreign bands from playing their shores. Shows involving everyone from Oasis to Linkin Park have been either cancelled or shut down by Chinese authorities in the past. But this is the first time a large-scale, multi-band music festival has been severely affected by the country's stringent, authority-driven government.

It's unclear at this point whether organizers will forge on with this year's festival, which also features more than 30 Chinese bands, including Ziyou, Queen Sea Big Shark, Second Hand Rose and Re-Tros.

Last year's event featured primarily Chinese rock and punk bands and was delegated to a concrete park in Beijing, with shows happening outdoors and in partially covered concrete auditoriums. Authorities were in full force at the event. Organizers had high hopes that this year's festival would be an all-around better one than last year's but now that looks questionable at best.

No word if this has anything to do with a certain anniversary.

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