Taiwan a focus country at Czech music festival debut

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) Taiwan will make its debut at the 2025 Czech Music Crossroads festival as a "focus country," presenting genre-defying performances that blend rock, electronica, and traditional Indigenous ballads by three musical acts.

Launched in 2014, the festival has grown into one of the Czech Republic's largest showcase events, featuring performances by 15 leading artists in world, fusion, and folk genres, alongside conferences attended by more than 30 international music professionals.

Taiwan and Estonia have been selected as this year's focus countries, with Taiwan set to spotlight three boundary-pushing bands.

Wooonta, a duo that fuses the Chinese erhu with the Indian sitar, will take the stage on the festival's opening day, June 19, bringing their "transcendent blend of tradition and innovation to Ostrava," according to the festival's website.

Taiwu Ballads Troupe and DJ Dungi Sapor will perform on June 21, the festival's final day, combining the "millennia-old songs of the Paiwan people" and progressive electronic music, the website says.

Also performing on June 21 is Musicians' House, offering its signature fusion of electric guitar and Chinese bamboo flute --"music that bridges cultural and generational divides," according to the site.

The Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague said in a statement on Tuesday that Crossroads offers opportunities for musicians to engage directly with organizers of music festivals, talent scouts, and record labels from Central and Eastern Europe and around the world.

It expressed hope that being named a focus country will increase international exposure for Taiwanese artists, leading to more performance invitations and opportunities to collaborate with artists abroad.