It’s a long way from Austin, Texas to Shanghai, China. Long in the sense of distance but also lightyears away in culture and experience.
Sonicbids band Wiretree was selected to make that journey from Texas to China, as they were selected to play the Strawberry Music Festival.
I caught up with frontman Kevin Peroni to discuss their journey.
How was the festival?
Oh man it was great! we played two shows, one in Shanghai with close to 1000 people and one in Beijing, with well over 2000 people. Experience of a lifetime.
What was the experience of getting to China like and did you experience any culture shock?
It was an eye-opening experience. The food was the biggest shock; there was fried starfish, squid on a stick and strange insects available to eat.
We had the famous Peking Duck, which was amazing.
In Shanghai the dumplings were super tasty.
How did the fans respond to your music?
Unbelievably. They're hungry for music from the west. When we started, there were maybe 3 rows of people infront of us. By the middle of our set, the whole area was packed. We got them clapping along and waving their hands. The stage was comparable to Austin City Limits or Lollapolooza.
Did you get to explore China at all?
On the last two days off we got to see the Great Wall of China, took a tour of Tienanmen Square and strolled around Shanghai. We saw how they make silk, pearl necklaces and carved items out of jade.
Did you ever think you’d be playing so far away?
Not at all, China was never on our list of places to play. We didn't think we'd get picked for this opportunity and forgot about it until we got the email asking inviting us to play.
We're glad we did, and it just proves that we can make it work anywhere in the world.
