Asian-American music powerhouse 88rising has called off its new festival, 88 Degrees & Rising.

The one-day event was supposed to take place on 9 September at the JIExpo convention centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, but has now been called off due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

NIKI, Rich Brian, Warren Hue and Stephanie Poetri, along with XG, MILLI, Atarashii Gakko! and Spence Lee were lined up to perform.

Other events that will not take place in 2023 include Made in America (US), Fest Festival (Poland), Falls Festival (Australia), Rolling Loud (US), Summerburst (Sweden), Hills of Rock (Bulgaria), InMusic (Croatia), Wireless Germany, Hear Hear (Belgium) and Tempelhof Sounds and Tempelhof Sounds Presents (Germany).

“We love our fans in Indonesia and can’t wait to bring you a great show in 2024”

“We are saddened to share that due to unforeseen circumstances, 88 Degrees & Rising Jakarta will not be taking place this year,” 88rising wrote in their statement. “All tickets will be automatically refunded to point of purchase. We love our fans in Indonesia and can’t wait to bring you a great show in 2024.”

88 Degrees & Rising would have been the company’s second festival in Indonesia after debuting its Head in the Clouds festival in Jakarta at the end of last year. A second edition is scheduled for this autumn.

The festival brand also has a presence in Los Angeles, New York and Manila, with a new edition launching in China this September.

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Asian-American music powerhouse 88rising is launching Head in the Clouds festival in China this September.

The expansion follows successful editions in Los Angeles (US), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines) and most recently, New York (US).

88rising today (24 July) confirmed that the China debut will take place in Guangzhou, a sprawling port city northwest of Hong Kong, on 23 and 24 September.

88rising todayconfirmed that the China debut will take place Guangzhou on 23 and 24 September

The venue and line-up are yet to be announced but as always, the festival will spotlight Asian acts. The likes of NIKI, Rich Brian, Warren Hue, Jackson Wang, eaJ, Joji, BIBI and Itzy have graced previous iterations of the festival.

88rising also announced that Head in the Clouds will return to Jakarta on 9 September for a second edition. Following that, 88rising will host a special showcase as part of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix on 15 September. Confirmed to perform so far are Jackson Wang, NIKI, Rich Brian, Warren Hue, XG, BIBI, MILLI and Atarashii Gakko!.

Meanwhile, the original LA event will return on 4 and 5 August at Brookside at The Rose Bowl with Rina Sawayama, DPR LIVE + DPR IAN, XG, YOASOBI and more.

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Head in the Clouds festival will debut in New York this spring, following successful editions in Los Angeles, Jakarta and Manila.

NIKI, Rich Brian, ITZY, beabadoobee, DPR Live & DPR Ian, MILLI and XG will perform at the two-day event, led by Asian-American music powerhouse 88rising.

The East Coast festival will be produced alongside frequent 88rising collaborator and Southern California promoter Goldenvoice (Coachella, Stagecoach), as well as new partner The Bowery Presents.

The East Coast festival will be produced alongside Goldenvoice and The Bowery Presents

Head in the Clouds NY will take over Forest Hills Stadium in Queens between 20–21 May during, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

This marks the first time the festival has branched out to a new market in North America following a successful run in Los Angeles (2018-19, 2021-22) and 2022 festivals in Jakarta and Manila.

The inaugural NY event also represents a homecoming for 88rising, which was founded in New York City back in 2015.

Masiwei, Atarashii Gakko!, P-Lo, Raveena, Warren Hue and more will also perform at the event.

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Live Nation and 88rising are the latest promoters to announce new events in Asia, buoying a festival boom on the continent.

The news comes shortly after Rolling Loud announced plans to expand its hip-hop franchise to Thailand in 2023, and Lollapalooza revealed intentions to launch in Mumbai early next year.

Live Nation’s contribution to the uptick is a one-day urban festival in Tokyo, Japan, in collaboration with the country’s leading promoter Creativeman.

Tonal Tokyo will take place at the Ariake Arena (cap. 15,000) on 29 October this year, featuring a mix of domestic and international acts.

Charli XCX, Jamie xx, Years & Years and Lany are among the artists slated to perform across the main arena and the sub arena.

“We aim to create a new-generational music festival that brings together the diverse sounds and colours of Tokyo”

“This autumn, a new urban festival will be born in our Tokyo. Tonal means ‘timbre’ or ‘colour’. We aim to create a new-generational music festival that brings together the diverse sounds and colours of Tokyo and sends them out from Tokyo to the world,” says the event’s organisers.

Tickets for Tonal Tokyo go on sale on 3 September, with general admission billed at ¥16,500 (€123) and VIP tickets going for ¥30,000 (€224).

Elsewhere, Asian-American music powerhouse 88rising is preparing to bring its US-festival Head in the Clouds to Jakarta, Indonesia, this winter.

The festival will take place at Community Park PIK2 on 3 and 4 December, featuring performances from “artists around the world” – though the line-up is yet to be announced.

Head in the Clouds Jakarta will follow the California edition on 10 and 11 August, which is co-produced with AEG Presents.

Jackson Wang, Jay Park, Rich Brian, MILLI, Chung Ha, eaJ and Bibi are among the artists slated to perform in Los Angeles.

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The Los Angeles county department of public health has issued a new order stating that attendees of any major outdoor event will be required to wear a mask – regardless of Covid-19 vaccination status – due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

From 23:59 on Thursday 19 August, the county’s order will apply to all events with more than 10,000 attendees, such as music or food festivals, car shows, large endurance events, marathons, parades, sporting events and concerts.

The order is to be enforced by the operators of any such event, both verbally and with visible signage at all entry points.

Masks are required to be worn by everyone at all times except when actively eating or drinking at these events, according to the order.

The county order comes after orders issued in July, which reinstated an indoor mask mandate for most public spaces

Head in the Clouds festival, which is set to take place at Brookside at the Rose Bowl 6–7 November is one of the few major music festivals scheduled to take place in LA for the remainder of 2021. But the order will also affect larger venues including the Hollywood Bowl, SoFi Stadium and the Banc of California Stadium, as well as sports venues.

The county order comes after orders issued in July, which reinstated an indoor mask mandate for most public spaces, applying to both major events (defined as those with 5,000 or more attendees) as well as smaller spaces such as restaurants, movie theatres and gyms.

The public health department said that the Delta variant of Covid-19, which is twice as contagious as earlier variants of the virus, is now predominant in LA county. On 16 August, the LA County Public Health reported 2,426 new cases of Covid-19, 1,653 current hospitalisations and five new deaths.

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