Macao Street Music Performance

Tracy Chang

On the second Sunday of every month, a group of teens followed their dreams and performed street music at different plazas in Macao. Their aim was not the money, but the applause from audience. It was a good start for Macao street music performance; it is also the activator of local music development in Macao.

“I remembered it was a Thursday night in 2003. Three teen boys stood at the center of Largo do Senado, and sang Beatles’ song ‘Hey Jude’ with their acoustic guitars. It was the first street music performance I had seen in Macao. Though the boys don’t have brilliant music skill and advanced instrument, their courage and enthusiasm for music were worth being appreciated and encouraged,” Eva Lam recalled. Eva is a local singer and composer. Due to this special experience, Eva’s enthusiasm for music was rekindled, and she dreamed of performing her music in street like the boys did.

In 2011, Eva met Mark Lam, a core Mark asked if she wanted to be a part of them. And then the Macao street music performance story began. Mark experienced street music performance when he travelled to Yunnan few years ago. He saw a lot of local musicians playing their original music. Many tourists around followed the rhythm and danced. The atmosphere was so lively and delightful. Mark thought it would be great if Macao music could also create a wonderful atmosphere like this.

In January 2012, Mark decided to launch a one-year event called “PURE”, which is a platform for developing local music in Macao. The most significant activity in PURE is the monthly “PURE Street Music Performance,” Until now, it has been held twice at Pereira Plaza Macau and Iao Hon Park. At first Mark thought “PURE” might need a lot of time to gain the public awareness. Unexpectedly, the performance came into public notice rapidly, and the number of members joining the PURE group has risen to 200 in February 2012.

Music is a common language that can introduce and bring different people in love and harmony. However, in the fast-paced society, people focus on working and seldom have time to chase their music dream. Mark said, “I am so happy that people love our music. Most of the members do not only support our events, but they also want to be our performers. They came from different social classes, such as doctors, teachers, designers and students.”

Another similar public music performance, “Sun Never Left,” was held by Macao Creative Industries Promotion Association of St. Lazarus Church District. It started in March 2011. The performance is held every Saturday and Sunday, from 15:00 to 18:00 at Rua de Sao Roque in Macao. Hide Cheong, one of the core organizers of Macao Creative Industries Promotion Association of St. Lazarus Church District, mentioned, “There are many talented musicians in Macao. However, they hardly find a place to perform music. Thanks to the location support of Macao government, “Sun Never Left” can give opportunities and provide a platform for local musicians to develop their music.”

Most of the performers stated that they gained a lot of valuable experiences from the street music performance. Eva is one of the artists in PURE. In the past, she always cared about the reaction of the audience. Once she feels that people are not satisfied with her music, she would feel very upset about it. After joining “Pure Street Music Performance”, she realized that she only needed to be open-minded and bravely share her feelings to music with the audience, and then the audience would appreciate and like it. “I am not used to singing in front of many strangers. The experiences of street performance enhance my confidence, and broaden my social networks. It allows me to share my music to other musician and helps develop my music,” she said.

Willy Chang, an environmental designer, said, “after performing my music in PURE and some street music shows presented by other associations, I felt I become more confident. Moreover, it helps to build up my reputation. Recently, my business increased and many customers curiously asked me whether I was the guy who performed music in street. I feel like I’m a star now.”

Although the street music performance seems to be developed very well, the lack of resource and fund is still a big problem to those associations. Wan Chu, one of the performers of Sun Never Left, mentioned, “Although there are so many people supporting us now, we would receive complaints from citizens. Usually they complained about the volume of our music. Some of them suggested us to change place since our performances were near folk houses. Some of them just dislike our music.”

Tony Lai, a social worker in Macau New Youth Association, stated that those music associations could work together with the Macao government. On the one hand, Macao government should give more financial support to local music development. On the other hand, government could provide some fixed places for regular music performances. Therefore, street music performances may become a new amazing tourist spot in Macao.

Moreover, regarding to the further development of local music, Hide hoped that creative works like local music could gradually expand their social network which helped promote and raise the public awareness. Different to Hide’s opinion, Mark indicated, “Macao local music doesn’t need to be industrialized now. I’d rather it develop slowly and let more people enjoy the process.” He continued, “If possible, I would like to build a music college in Macao and invite famous singers or music producers from other regions to be the teachers. In this case, Macao music can be improved and the music skills of local singers can be enhanced. At that time, Macao music industry will become significant in the world music market. It’s my big dream of music.”