The Rockit Festival is back, and this time it's for a good cause.
On select nights from next Thursday until February 5, the people who brought you last October's rock festival in Victoria Park will present Mini-Rockit: Bay of Bengal Earthquake/Unicef Fundraiser at two Central venues.
Events will be split between live bands at Amnesia, off Hollywood Road, and DJ sets at nearby Yumla. There'll also be outdoor entertainment in the park near Yumla - and all proceeds will go to the Oxfam relief fund for those affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.
'It's nice to get everyone together again,' says Rockit organiser and Amnesia owner Nimal Jayawardena, for whom the disaster has struck a personal chord. His father is Sri Lankan and, although he says his family wasn't directly affected, it was worryingly close to home.
Jayawardena and other members of the Rockit crew were instrumental in putting Oxfam donation boxes around SoHo. 'So far we've raised $117,000 just by distributing boxes,' he says. Now, they're planning something bigger.
More than 15 bands have so far been confirmed, and more are being short-listed to fill the small Amnesia venue over four nights. Audiotraffic, the Hong Kong winners of the Battle of the Bands, will be playing alongside hot new garage rockers The Academy and metal outfit Nothing None. Chill-out collective Celestial are also due to perform, with guitarist Eugene Pao and shakuhachi (Japanese flute) master Sunny Yeung.
There'll be a minimum donation of $50 at the door at Amnesia, with all proceeds going to Oxfam, but Yumla will retain its usual free-entry policy and encourage punters to raise funds by buying drinks.