Fall in Jazz : Seoul Jazz Festival
Fall in Jazz : Seoul Jazz Festival
Since 2007, Seoul hosts an International Jazz Festival. The venue have changed along the years, but it has currently been held on Olympic Park, on may.
In 2014, they had three different stages, where they brought big names from all over the world. Like Damien Rice, Jamie Cullum, Joshua Redman Quartet, Jack Dejohnette Trio, Eddie Palmieri, Gerald Albright, Wouter Hamel, Erlend Oye, Sondre Lerche and many others.
Artists already confirmed for 2015 are Sergio Mendes, MIKA, Gregory Porter and Caro Emerald. The festival usually lasts the whole weekend (friday to sunday).
You can get tickets for the whole festival or just pick a day. Since it is a festival with so many bands and singers coming, from in and outside of South Korea, the ticket is not cheap. I guess you have to enjoy the music very much and maybe think if it’s worth for you.
Although it is a Jazz Festival, sometimes they add up other genres of music, like hip hop, rap and pop. Besides the great music, there are lots of food and merchandising stalls around the festival.
People gather together with picnic towels and just chill for the whole day, getting closer to the stage whenever they want to see a band from a closer spot. Or you can just find a perfect place to “park” yourself and watch the shows.
The thing is, as there are more than one stage, you might need to move from time to time, if you wish to check out the other two stages available.
There is a big main stage, which is open air and where people do their picnics and where you can find most of the food stalls; and there is another two, one of which have more of a club or party feeling and it is closed. The third one is also open air, and surrounds a lake, it is much smaller and has a more cozy style of show.
Between shows, you can go explore some of the snacks and merchandising. A lot of brands offer some interactive activities to promote their name by giving you some samples or offering prizes. People line up for the fun stuff, so if you have the patience to wait, check them out.
If you are into CDS even in our modern times of downloading our life, there is also a stall selling CDS of the bands playing in the festival. Along with t-shirts and stuff like that. Especially for the unknown bands, I usually buy the CDS of the ones I like to support their work.
To get there, you go to Olympic Park Station (Subway Line 5) and get off at exit 3. Or you can also take a bus depending on where you are. I recommend you get there early, because there might be a big line for changing your ticket for the entrance bracelet and also getting a bracelet for purchasing alcohol (don’t forget your ID).
You can check out their website and facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/seouljazzfestival
