International Musicfest
History
This festival started in the year 2006, only a few years after the war of the black and white king. Now, people have populated most of the world and established the main parts of the world: Ä+*4~, Fairy Gardens, Desert, T@Ö#Ä3 and T@Ö#Ä3 Wasteland. They all lived their own lives and created their own traditions and cultures. Especially Ä+*4~ and T@Ö#Ä3 grew quite apart, to the point of the war that brought much sorrow and devastation to the world. After the war, people swore they would never fight like this again, and they started focusing on the idea of bringing everyone together instead. After all, they all came from one colony of people who lived together underground for thousands of years. Now again, it was time to come together, to celebrate their diversity and learn from each other. And what better way there is to bring people together, than with a nice and fun music festival?
Beginning of International Musicfest
First festival was hosted in Central Area of Ä+*4~, which was then already the main center of entertainment. The plan was to choose a singer or a band from each area of the world, who would perform a song at the festival. At the end of the evening, a winner would be chosen, and his home area would host the next festival. The winner would be chosen by people who would vote for their favorite song.
The first contest featured only 8 contestants: from Desert, North Ä+*4~, Central Area, North Fairy Gardens, South Fairy Gardens, West T@Ö#Ä3, East T@Ö#Ä3 and T@Ö#Ä3 Wasteland. Each area chose their contestant based on who the most successful musician was in that area in the last year. Usually, whoever had the highest positions on the music charts would win, but on occasion 2nd or 3rd best could be chosen. This was mostly done to switch things up if the same artist came up two years in a row, and one or two times the first chosen artist even declined participation. Everyone would be honored to get the offer to join International Musicfest, but sometimes it’s just too much work, so we can’t blame them for declining.
Now, when all of the participants were chosen and the songs written, it was time for the first ever International Musicfest. It was a 2 hour show, taking place at the Central Town Square. Many people would travel here to see the show live, but even more were watching it from home on the TV. In the first part of the show all of the contestants performed their songs, for which people then voted via a phone app, created specifically for this occasion. Second part of the show was the voting period, during which the musicians would tell the audience a bit more about themselves and their music. Once the voting period was over it was time to announce the winner, and the first winner was a band from West T@Ö#Ä3.
The show was a great success, loved by everyone who got a chance to watch it, and so, the next year’s Interntaional Musicfest would be hosted in West T@Ö#Ä3.
Next few years the Musicfest would continue in the same way as the first one: with 8 contestants, one winner who would be voted for, and host the next year’s show.
Growth
People very much enjoyed the show, but as its popularity grew, the organizers had to make the show even bigger and better. 8 contestants were fine at the beginning, but now more musicians wished to participate, and more districts of the world wanted their own musician to represent them. And so, areas were divided in even smaller parts, each with its own contestant. Today, the show host total of 40 different contestants from 7 different districts of Ä+*4~, 8 from Fairy Gardens, 5 from Desert, whole 13 from East T@Ö#Ä3, 14 from West T@Ö#Ä3 and 3 from T@Ö#Ä3 Wasteland.
Now, this has become a 4 day event, hosted in the middle of 6th month. The event consists of two semi-finals on day 1 and 2, and the grand final on the 4th day, after a day of break. In the first semi final all of the songs from 20 T@Ö#Ä3 areas are presented, and on the 2nd all of the songs of the 20 Ä+*4~ areas get their turn. 10 songs are chosen each evening to advance to the grand final, where all of them are performed again, and the final winner is chosen. As it is tradition, the winning area hosts the next year’s Musicfest.
Songs of International Musicfest
As fascinating as the technical details are, it’s the musicians and their songs that make this contest what it is. Since this contest was born out of the desire to come together and celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of each area of our world, this shows greatly in the songs and performances. Each contestant wants to make their performance their own, showcasing the best bits of their part of the world. Musicfest is today especially known for strange and elaborate performances, talented artists, and the most unexpected weirdness just when you think you’ve seen it all. Here you’ll see everything from kitchencore of T@Ö#Ä3 Wasteland, to wind chime music of Fairy Gardens, and everything in between. Ä+*4~ is known for their flashy indie disco, T@Ö#Ä3 for industrial metal, and Desert for underground punk - get it, because they literally live underground? :D Alright, I’ll let myself out..
But it’s not only the music that matters. The entire performances are planned out to the every last detail, outfits, stage, and every dance move. You’ll see contestants from rich areas in extravagant dresses, but Wastlanders don’t fall behind with their unexpectedly flamboyant upcycled costumes. Of course, this contest welcomes lowkey magical performances of fairy bands from Fairy Gardens just as well, and each year has plenty of performers who don’t necessarily go for the larger-than-life performances, but keep it simple and focused on their musical talent.
All in all, this is the place where you’ll find a little bit of everything for everyone. It’s a festival where everyone can come together to have fun and appreciate all the weirdness that the world has to offer.
Notable events and contestants
In the many years of this contest, we’ve seen a wide and colorful array of contestants and performances. Some were probably more memorable than the others, but I’ll need a while to fill this one out. I don’t really wanna try too hard right now, the best ideas come on their own. Until then, here’s a picture of Tina in boots made of cinder blocks and a discarded newspaper outfit - an outfit you would see on a Wasteland contestant.
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