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Carrie Chan

The organisers call it a celebration of down-to-earth music by down-to-earth people. Four years in  the making, Hong Kong Folk, an eight-hour song fest  in Victoria Park this afternoon, is an anomaly in a music scene dominated by formulaic pop, over-produced ballads and derivative hip hop:

it's pure folk.

'Most local people think folk music is only about acoustic guitars and a  cappella singing,' says coordinator Michael Tsui

Tat-cheung.  'We want to show them there's more to it.'

The repertoire  boasts many 1960s standards from the likes of Peter, Paul and Mary, but there's also original material and songs from Taiwanese folk artists such  as Chi Yu.

Tsui says the spirit of folk is  an authentic expression of life  by ordinary people rather than glamorous stars.

'We sing  our true feelings.  It also celebrates the fact that anyone can play a few chords  and sing. We salute live music, performances that aren't mimed.'

Spartan compared with  typical pop concerts (the budget is less than HK$20,000), the event is  a rare assembly of folk acts. It  will feature 24 groups and  in  the lineup  are several young performers, including 15-year-old Ariel Lau Hei-lam,  who released an album with her school in February, and Vanilla, a group  of four lively nine-year-olds.

Ching Wan  is the most established of the groups, having  been around for 25 years.  At its core  are 10 members, whose ages range from the teens to the  30s. But with a loose-knit membership of more than 200 people, it often seems more like a club and holds a weekly folk-music party in Shau Kei Wan.

Ivy Lau Hoi-wai, a 30-year-old fashion designer, joined  Ching Wan while still in secondary school and stayed because of  its enduring camaraderie. 'It's  not just a band. We've all become friends,' she says.

'We take turns to play different instruments, so we can be more flexible and creative with the whole performance. And there are no electronic effects.  We also pay  a lot of attention to the contrast between  the lead singer and the chorus,' says Lau.

Some  say Hong Kong doesn't have a distinct folk style, as few groups compose  songs. Franky Cheong Shu-keung,  of  Cable, is among those that do. It's hard  for folk groups to compose songs on a regular basis because most members have full-time jobs, he says. 'There's also little incentive since radio stations aren't interested in airing such songs.'

Ironically, some leading folk personalities such as Kenneth Fong Shu-leung have become successful Canto-pop producers. And although pop acts such as At17 and Chet Lam Yat-fung  have slipped neo-folk elements into their material, the genre remains a fringe interest  on the local  scene. But  folk groups hope to introduce their music to more young people through  tomorrow's festival.

Although they can't compare with polished professionals, Vanilla - comprising schoolmates Vivian Yu Ha-wing, Angela Lau Pui-yee,  Jerrie Lo Ho-com and Jasmine Chung Chui-lam  - have already been invited to perform  on television as well as in  restaurants. But then the foursome has benefited from having a knowledgeable mentor: Vivian's father, Yu Tak-sum, of the two-decade-old group Mercury.  The girls, who play the mandolin, guitar and violin, find folk tunes an enjoyable change of pace from mainstream material.

'Besides, these songs seem  to be more long-lasting,'  says Jerrie. 'Pop songs can be  easily forgotten.'

Ariel Lau has been performing since she was nine, when she got together with three classmates  to compose songs. 'I wrote about war, love for my teachers and my school,' she says. 'What I like about folk is that the lyrics aren't always going on about romantic relationships. Often, the  messages are more positive and encouraging. There's a freshness that pop songs often lack.'

Hong Kong Folk 2006, Band Stand, Victoria Park, 2pm-10pm,

today, free. For details, go to www.hkfolk.cwfolknet.com



Folk fans keep it real with gadget-free outdoor song fest