Songdo hosts international music festival
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Musician John Starling will perform during the Songdo Spring Free Music Festival in Songdo, Incheon, April 23-24. / Courtesy of John Starling
‘Expat artists happy to help Songdo become music city’
By John Redmond
Songdo, Incheon, will host an international music festival from April 23-24.
John Starling, a Baltimore, Maryland native, will put together bands and solo performers during the Songdo-Song Spring Free Music Festival. The event will present music ranging from folk to rock, jazz to bluegrass.
Starling writes and performs original and traditional “roots music” (blues, country, bluegrass, hillbilly and folk) as well as rockabilly and Irish rock with his band of Korean and expatriate musicians called John Patrick Starling & Drownin’ River.
The Korea Times spoke with Starling about his life in Korea and his passion for Korean audiences.
“I first came to Korea in 1997 and taught English in Daejon and kick-boxed for the famed Dongyang Kickboxing Gym under former pro champion, Master Song Eun-sop,” he said by email.
“I now live in Songdo and run a management consulting firm that I founded 15 years ago, which specializes in growing enterprise value (Smith Growth Partners), which is based in Gangnam and the U.S.”
Q: How did you get involved in music?
A:
About 10 years ago I started writing songs and people seemed to like them. I am an admittedly average singer and guitarist, but I can write a song with the best of them and I’m looking to find real singers to record my music. But, I love playing music with the good bunch of folks that are in the Drownin’ River with me.
Q: How do you find Korean audiences?
Playing music in Korea is great, because the audiences really listen. Koreans appreciate a good song and the hard work that is songwriting. And they love a good story ― and I’ve got some to tell.
Q: What are your expectations for this event?
We hope foreign and Korean music fans of all types will come to the shows at this free festival ― and I really hope that Korean acts will come and will talk to me about playing with us at the Fall Festival later this year.
“When I moved to Songdo I learned that the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), the International Business District (IBD) and City Hall all want Songdo and the surrounding area to become the music city of Korea and the expat musician community is happy to help put the ‘Song’ in Songdo,” Starling says on his Facebook page.
The festival is free and venues are Relish on April 23, Liquor Burger on April 24 and Cinder Bar on April 25.
The Saturday performance is an early show, with a playground next door for children.
John Starling can be contacted on
https://www.facebook.com/john.starling.79?fref=ts
.