Drinking onstage, eating apples or walking around in sandals - that's how folk musicians will perform in the open square of Jinqiao Shopping Mall in Pudong on June 18 and 20.

"These concerts will be free and simple," says Lu Zhongqiang, founder and manager of the Thirteen Month record company. "We'll have close interaction with audiences, and sing about problems and issues that everyone faces in modern urban life."

Folk singers represented by the indie folk rock music company have been active since the early 2000s, becoming increasingly popular among urban music lovers in recent years.

"The concerts will be held in the grounds of a shopping mall, as it represents mainstream urban culture," says Sun Mengjin, a local music critic. "Original folk music nowadays has a lot more meaning than ever before.

"Ma Tiao embodies the spirit of Northwest China. Zhou Yunpeng is a lyrical poet, and Chow Chi-ping represents a narrative singing style from Taiwan," Sun says, underscoring the diverse styles of the musicians.

Lu expects a crowd of 3,000 or more at each of the shows. It will be like a mini music festival, he says.

Last August and this January, musicians with Thirteen Month presented two sold-out concerts in Shanghai' Mao Live House.

One of the musicians, Chuanzi, participated in China's Got Talent, a reality TV show of the Got Talent franchise, where he perform with his pet dog, Dudu. The show made him a household name in Shanghai and indie folk known to a wider audience.

"We have been so moved by the passion of Shanghai audiences at past concerts," Chuanzi tells China Daily. "I sang at most of the shows of the tour and enjoyed the company of fellow singers, such as Ma Tiao, Zhong Lifeng and Yangjiasong.

"Drinking a little liquor and eating apples are all my little habits. This is what folk concerts are like - people have face-to-face communication."

Thirteen Month has been organizing concert tours all over China in the recent years.

"Everywhere we go, people come up and play something for us, or show us video clips on their micro blogs," Lu says. "We keep finding good original music and picking up new artists on the way. There are already four or five new names on our artists' list."

Zhou Yunpeng, one of the artists represented by Thirteen Month, says, "Folk music is something growing out of the earth, like crops. You see things happening around you, write them into the most simple songs, sing it and let people hear you.

"Beijing rarely sees free concerts. This will be a most happy occasion," he says.

Last year, at a gig in Xi'an one of the artists, Wan Xiaoli, got drunk and went up to dance on stage, while another singer was performing. "He danced awkwardly, but it was a most lovely scene," Lu says.

China Daily