Macau Cultural Centre September 26

Hush!!, the Macau Cultural Centre’s annual one-day music festival, is far cooler than it’s lamentably lame name suggests. Now five years old, the event is beloved by Macanese music fans for its cheap drinks, laidback open-air venue, and consistently high quality, multinational line-up.

Headlining this year are hometown heroes Soler and Jun Kung, who both played at the inaugural Hush!! in 2005, before going on to achieve considerable success in Hong Kong and abroad. “We’re thrilled that they’ve agreed to come back for the five-year anniversary,” says CCM organizer Omar Kuok. “Many of us in Macau grew up knowing these guys long before they got big in Hong Kong. They are the success story that younger Macanese bands look to for inspiration.”

This year’s notable foreign imports include Taiwanese balladeers Tizzy Bac, anthemic rap-rock act Saint Loco of Jakarta, and pop-punk outfit Reflector from Beijing. All told, 13 local bands and five international acts play throughout the day, with DJs and hip-hop dancers in the chill-out area.

Remembering back to 2005, Kuok says the CCM founded Hush!! in hopes of redressing Macau’s lack of live music options for audiences aged below 40. “Most of the big, well organised music events in Macau are aimed at people with highbrow tastes – symphonies, operas, and stage plays,” explains Kuok. “We wanted to give younger music fans an event of their own.”

Over the years the festival has also been a great boon to the nascent Macanese indie-music community. “It’s a lot harder for young bands to make a name for themselves in Macau than it is for artists in Hong Kong. The population is smaller here, there are limited opportunities for media exposure, and very few venues are open to unestablished acts,” says Kuok. Hush!! gives young Macanese bands a rare opportunity to play through expensive speakers to large audiences.

When asked to explain the festival’s awkward name, Kuok falters and says, “With ‘Hush,’ we want to tell the kids, ‘don’t go crazy when the music starts playing; be quiet and listen first.’” That the local music community needs to rely on the well-intentioned efforts of a paternalistic community centre, rather than its own DIY indie energy, doesn’t bode particularly well for the scene’s vitality. But with CCM’s cheap drinks and comfortable outdoor venue, it’s easy to remember how cozy it can be to party on your parents’ dime. Patrick Brzeski