[:en]Nothing else changes: Same great music, same radness.
We have a new name.
Echo Park is now Concrete & Grass. For 2016, the future and beyond.
Why change a perfectly formed, awesomely cute name? We know too well that Echo Park was the heart of our festival’s identity, and it’s been heartbreaking for us to let it go.
To cut to the chase, we are no longer allowed to use the name ‘Echo Park’ for our much loved escape from the urban grind. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been mired in a complex tangle with China’s trademark system, and the change in name is the result.
BUT, and this is very very important to remember, Concrete & Grass will be the same amazing festival – same good vibes, same great bands, same awesome people.
Still on for this year, assuming smooth regulatory transition. Still featuring a kickass, diverse, deep music lineup with plenty of distractions on the side. We are 90% booked – just need those pesky permits.
That’s the TL;DR. Now, let’s get into the details for those curious.
We’ve been lucky enough to have been promoting amazing music in China for over a decade. It’s been quite a ride – sometimes brilliant, sometimes ecstatic, always challenging. The last few weeks have been rather too much of the latter.
We take festival naming really seriously. We spend weeks all together throwing around hundreds of options until we find something that just works. Echo Park was the result back in the first half of last year – that rare magical moment when something just *worked* for everyone, instantly.
Unfortunately, someone else had a similar idea, in actual fact, before we did. Echo App, a venture-funded tech and music company, launched before our Echo Park festival, and the people behind Echo App applied for the trademark around Echo a few months before we did.
When they decided to launch yet another festival in Shanghai’s Expo Park (with a rather familiar lineup) and wanted to call it Echo Festival, they obviously didn’t want another “Echo” twisting their melon, particularly one as hot and sexy as ours. Six weeks ago, the very well-funded people at Echo sent us a sharp, threatening letter, ordering us to cease and desist using the name for a festival that we’d already launched 7 months before. No phone call, no visit to our offices, just an aggressive lawyer’s missive and a summons from the Ministry of Culture.
It’s not really their fault – it’s not really our fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s the crazy trademark system here in China, but that is what it is. We’ll miss Echo Park, but if you still need that particular fix, you can always go to Echo at Expo to see some good old pop idols play.
But if you want rockin’ rock, hoppin’ hip hop and electric electronica, then you know where you need to be in September. We’re proud of our little emerald oasis in the middle of this concrete metropolis, where the livin’ is easy and the music is sublime.
It’s been quite a ride. Goodbye, Echo Park. Viva la Concrete & Grass.
Onwards!
Online:
Damai：http://www.damai.cn
Split Works: https://spli-t.com
About Split Works:
Split Works has been rocking in the free (ish) world since 2006. Working with inspirational artists from across the globe, the good people at Split Works HQ have been a key contributor to the continued rise of China’s music scene. Split Works has launched five music festivals and promoted over 400 tours to 30 Chinese cities, always striving to stay true to a familiar refrain: the music has to be special, every single time. From Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Sonic Youth, from Thee Oh Sees to Mac Demarco and Shabazz Palaces, from Black Rabbit to JUE and Wooozy to More Music, we love music, we love China and we love you.
About Damai Live:
Damai Live is a new international concert promotion agency, part of Damai Entertainment, the country’s biggest ticketing agency. It has the strongest resource platform in China, and leverages Damai Entertainment’s robust O2O operational systems. Damai Live maintains extensive relationships with leading global promoters and live entertainment agencies, and has expertise and capacity in event planning and promotion. Damai Live organizes live performances and creates original entertainment projects, striving to create high-quality, cutting-edge experiences for domestic audiences.[:zh]由开功Split Works和大麦国际Damai Live联合出品的曾于2015年9月在上海举行的Echo Park回声公园音乐节，今年正式更名为Concrete & Grass混凝草音乐节。
关于音乐节新名称Concrete & Grass混凝草音乐节的释义
她是精巧奇特的汉字组合，她拥有朗朗上口轻巧跳跃的读音。她是一个前所未有的崭新的词语，用以代表这个混凝土浇筑的城市中的年轻态度，以及不断产生着的新兴亚文化。
更名声明
这十年间，作为主办方，我们很荣幸能为中国观众带来很多精彩的演出。但生活总有顺流逆流，总是充满着各种挑战，就在过去的这几个星期里，我们迎来了一次艰巨的挑战。
2015年7月，也就是差不多去年的这个时候，我们满怀诚意地推出了Echo Park回声公园音乐节这个品牌，并且在当年9月让它成为了现实。这个名字响亮、平衡又十分可爱。但不幸的是，其他人也对这个名字拥有同样的爱，甚至爱得比我们更早——Echo APP先于我们几个月注册了商标。
今年，当他们计划举办一个同样叫“Echo”的音乐节的时候，自然不会希望存在另一个名字相同的音乐节。所以在六个星期前，Echo APP向我们发出了一封律师函，告知我们停止一切活动，并放弃Echo Park这个我们在7个月前提交注册商标申请的名字。
是的，我们放弃了。我们一致决定将音乐节更名为Concrete & Grass 混凝草音乐节。
这样的结果，不能责怪他们，错自然也不在我们。如果非要找个人承担，那可能就是中国商标注册这个怪圈吧。我们会想念Echo Park的，如果你也忘不了Echo这个词，或许可以去他们那里欣赏一下流行偶像。但如果你喜欢摇滚、嘻哈和电子，那就应该跟我们一起去到这个混凝土浇筑的城市森林，这个难得自在的绿洲天堂，这个浴火重生的Concrete & Grass 混凝草音乐节，一起疯一场！
再见，Echo Park。你好，Concrete & Grass！
我们继续前行！
Split Works 开功
2016年6月26日
Split Works官网：https://spli-t.com
大麦官网：http://www.damai.cn[:]