Few organisations in the city support the arts like the Fringe Club does. Once again, 2010’s festival year kicks off with City Festival, focusing on the behemoth metropolis to our north, Guangzhou. Over almost a month, more than a dozen musically focused acts explore the city formerly known as Canton, and touch on facets outside of Guangdong’s realm. Here are a few of the acts we’re most looking forward to.

Mouliukei + Ricemagnet
January 16, Fringe Club
Popular Guangzhou five-piece rockers Mouliukei have sold plenty of records with their dance-edged pop rock. They’ll play with Hong Kong’s Mando-Anglo indie poppers Ricemagnet.

Desert Songs
February 10-11, Fringe Club
Building on the significant folk music presence at this year’s fest, Desert Songs brings an unusual mesh of Middle Eastern and Oriental sounds, with traditional Hebrew, Cantonese, and Mandarin songs all being reworked. These nights feature composer Warren Wills, vocalist Heidi Mak, and violin virtuoso Jason Kwok.

Liang Yi-yuan and Li Dai-guo
January 23, Fringe Club
As part of the festival’s Guangzhou Live series, this gig brings together one of the most intriguing musical offerings of the month. This combination merges Liang’s experimental electronic sound and mysterious vocals with Li’s more classical, folky and improvisatory inclinations.

The Piano Battle 2
January 15-17, Fringe Club
The comedy-classical combat show of affable German pair Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis returns after a successful debut last year. It’s serious classical music in a whole new context – and you decide the winner.

Mark Tjhung

City Festival, various venues, January 14-February 12. Tickets: From Fringe Club (www.hkfringe.com.hk, 2521 7251) or hkticketing.com, 3128 8288.