On Saturday, February 20, 2016, Kimberley Chen (陳芳語), Soft Lipa (蛋堡), Kina Grannis, and the Far East Movement all took the stage at Terminal 5 in New York City. For four hours, the performers took turns playing their hits (and rocking some covers), to a crowd of over a thousand people in an amazing night of music, food, and performances.

The event, Lunar New Year Festival (春節演唱晚會), was a joint collaboration between Xi’An Famous Foods (a local, New York City restaurant chain specializing in food from the Xi’An region of China), Apex for Youth (a New York City mentoring program for underserved Asian and immigrant youth in the city), and our very own TAP-NY. All proceeds from the event went to Apex for Youth. It was actually the second year in a row for the event, with last year’s acts including MC Jin, Wanting Qu, Clara C, and more.

Music is often described as an expression of culture. It tells stories, ideas, and emotions, connecting people’s experiences with each other. It varies from generation to generation, community to community, with each group building on and shaping the music of others to reflect its own unique and changing culture. And, as we saw at Terminal 5, it spans countries, demographics, and languages.

My experience

I personally grew up listening to billboard topping American songs. Although my parents did play their fair share of Taiwanese music in the car (some of which still pop into my head on random days), it wasn’t until much later in my life that I started listening to or even being aware of Asian music from my generation. But, it was something that I would eventually come to appreciate and love. For me, the LNYF was an interesting reflection of that experience.

Taiwanese performer Kimberley Chen both played and spoke in English and Mandarin. Alternating between her Mandarin hits and covering famous English songs, her performance definitely struck a chord with my own mixed background. Only at home with my family, or with a small group of specific friends, had I really experienced that type of seamless transition between English and Mandarin, Eastern and Western cultures that Kimberley effortlessly brought to her performance. To see it on stage and on display made her performance that much more memorable to me.

What about you?

Of course, Kimberley Chen wasn’t the only performer that night that’s been influenced by their own unique blend of cultures. Soft Lipa, also Taiwanese, had a distinct hip hop vibe while rapping mostly in Mandarin. Kina Grannis, a half-Asian singer who first gained popularity on Youtube, is a reflection of both her ethnicity and her time. And of course, Far East Movement, a four-person group of Asian Americans specializing in hip-hop and EDM represented a mix of cultural and musical genres.

What role does music play in your life? How is that unique to your own cultural upbringing, your own cultural identity? And if you caught that night’s performance, what part of it spoke the most to you?

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TACL and its programs host cultural events all year round. Check out our programs (TAP, Youth Camps, Internships) to learn how to get involved with your community.