Saturday @ K11 Art Mall
This big, one-day natural wine festival is back at the 6F of K11, in the parking garage and on the roof. It’s a whole evening of free-flow wine tasting (from 5-10pm), DJs and live performers (from 5pm-2am), games, activities, and foods by a well-curated selection of restaurants serving pizza, sandwiches, gelato, and more (from start till close).
Tuesday - Sunday @ West Bund Art Center
Returning for its 13th edition from Nov 10-15, West Bund Art & Design brings together more than 150 galleries and exhibitors from 45 cities and regions across four venues along Shanghai's West Bund. Expect a mix of established international galleries, leading Chinese and Asian galleries, and 22 first-time exhibitors, alongside large-scale installations, moving image works, design projects and talks exploring the intersections of art and other disciplines. A major fixture of Shanghai Art Week, the fair offers a chance to catch up on contemporary art from around the world in one visit.
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Tuesday - Sunday @ West Bund Art Center
Community radio station par excellence byyb are collaborating with Barcelona based art collective, NAKED SPACE on this interactive installation on the West Bund. Basically this is a giant bed where everyone can lay down and listen to a DJ who plays in the centre. They've booked six DJs to play from 4-5pm each day, and they'll have pre-recorded mixes for the rest of the time. Read on
Wednesday & Thursday @ Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Amadeus is a theatre production presented by Shuliev and the Vakhtangov Theatre. The play follows the relationship between court composer Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, exploring talent, jealousy, ambition, and the consequences of rivalry.
Nov 19 @ Star@ Culture Center
Danish electronic dream pop duo Blue Foundation return to China for a four-date tour, including a Shanghai show on November 19. Known for their cinematic blend of electronic, ambient, shoegaze and dream pop, the band will perform with a special five-member lineup featuring Dalian musician Xie Yugang and Chengdu-based drummer Gao Xin.
Friday & Saturday @ Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai
Polish pianist and composer Kuba Derej brings his trio to the stage for an evening of music blending classical influences with modern jazz. Featuring original compositions from his album Seventeen, jazz interpretations of Chopin and reworked jazz standards, the performance brings together intricate melodies, shifting rhythms and improvisation.
Friday @ The Pearl
The Pearl is turning 13! Celebrate over a decade of live music, cabaret, and theatrical magic in Shanghai with a full night of performances, music, and dance. From legendary house band Red Stars to stunning musical theater and powerhouse vocalists, it’s set to be an unforgettable party.
Friday - Sunday @ Shanghai International Dance Center
Choreographed by Akram Khan, Thikra: Night of Remembering brings together Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance in a performance about memory, ancestry and spiritual healing. Featuring an all-female cast, the production explores how the past continues to shape the present and future.
Saturday @ Shanghai Concert Hall
Italian violinist and conductor Fabio Biondi returns to Shanghai with Europa Galante for the first time in eight years. The program opens with Italian Baroque concertos by Corelli, Geminiani and Locatelli before Vivaldi's complete The Four Seasons takes over the second half.
Nov 4-15 @ Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai
This blues and whisky night pairs live blues performances with whisky tasting in an intimate club setting. Featuring vocalist Yiko alongside a band of long-time Shanghai jazz and blues musicians, the evening combines live music, drinks, and optional dinner packages inspired by classic jazz bar culture.
Sunday @ Shanghai Children's Art Theatre
Australian circus company Circa gives Swan Lake a playful makeover in Duck Pond, mixing acrobatics, aerial performances and physical comedy with the familiar story of a prince, a swan and an unexpected duckling. With quirky characters and contemporary circus artistry, this wordless production offers a fresh take on the classic tale.
SmSh Team
Heatwolves / Heatwolves
Writer, producer, founder of the music label/collective, Love Bang, and a Shanghai character since 2007.
Friday @ C's
Jungle/DNB/dancehall/reggae/dub crew Ruff & Tuff has their "Return to Jungle" night down in this eternal dive bar on Friday, with Jado Deejay and Aho Selector bringing the sounds. Just some real Shanghai OGs doin their thang in this real OG bar.
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Friday @ Tank Shanghai
ALTER. is back, this time joining forces with NoName Studio and Social Supply to throw an art week afterparty inside a former oil depot. Now reimagined as a contemporary art centre, TANK Shanghai's massive cylindrical tanks have been repurposed as gallery halls. Read on
Friday @ Illum
Shanghai-based crew 4GABBERZ and 2004 present a party called Hardcore Hell at this cybergoth looking club in C-Park. Expect gabber, happy hardcore, and high bpms. Should be a great one for fans of this sound, with headliners 4D and 2004 playing vinyl sets and support from DEP, DJ CHR, and DESTROZOZ6Y.
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Friday @ Wigwam
Scottish producer and DJ Howie B is a pioneer of left-field electronic music, known for his work with Björk, U2, and Tricky. Expect trip-hop, dub, ambient, and experimental beats spanning decades at this C-Park palace of chillness.
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Friday @ Abyss Club
Berlin-via-Mexico DJ and producer Lokier brings her dark, hypnotic mix of EBM, industrial techno, electro, and post-punk influences to this club on Huaihai Lu on Friday the 13th. Support from Jula Issa, Goga, Gerger, and sugah riri.
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Saturday @ Reactor
R&B/hip hop/Afrobeats party Sugar House celebrates eight years in the game, with Chengdu-based producer Harikiri headlining the night and a big lineup across two rooms, including Amapiano producer Tiehan, Wes Chen, and more and a bass music situation with Kin. J, Popasuda, and Siesta upstairs. This party is a collaboration with streaming platform Keep Hush.
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Saturday @ Cedar Land
Long-running party Discosmic Adventure started back in 2012 and they're back after a long break. For this time, they're at the cool lil DIY cave Cedar Land in C-Park. They're spinning "everything from golden-era Mandopop and lush Cantopop to nostalgic City Pop and deep-fried Southeast Asian dancefloor rarities. Read on
Sunday @ Reso
One of the chillest neighborhood cafes in town, Reso, is hosting listening sessions on their impressive soundsystem every Sunday for the next couple weeks. “Experience vinyl music over Altec A7.”, they say. Expect an eclectic selection of records, good vibes, and possibly some random animals hangin' out (there was a goose there recently). Read on
Saturday @ VUE (Bar)
Dress to impress for Nova Events’ annual Masquerade Ball at VUE Bar, perched atop the Hyatt on the Bund. With 270-degree panoramic views of the Shanghai skyline and Bund, an evening of DJ music, dancing and mingling awaits.
Live Music Picks By
Will / LiveChinaMusic
Will Griffith is a photographer, videographer, writer, and music promoter living in Shanghai. He’s the founder of LiveChinaMusic - a platform dedicated to China's evolving underground music scene.
Friday - Sunday @ Neo Bar
NEO BAR returns! The legendary live music venue deep in the heart of Shanghai’s university district has been giving solace to the young, corruptible souls and raising some of Shanghai’s most beloved music acts for over twelve years! The bright red lights; the dueling movie screenings; the fridge full of Asahi bottles; and its motley crew of rabble-rousers keeping the place afloat - it’s iconic! Read on
Friday @ Cave Art Venue
Nearly a quarter-century after first emerging from Taiwan's indie underground, beloved quartet Freckles are back in action, bringing their wonderfully offbeat brand of indie pop to Shanghai for their first mainland show since reuniting. Formed in 2003 and led by singer-songwriter Lin Yile (aka Benben), the band made a name for themselves with their quirky storytelling, whimsical daydreams and infectious melodies, standing out from the louder, heavier sounds dominating Taiwan's underground at the time. Their 2017 album Imperfect Lover saw them embrace breezy city pop, reggae, folk and retro grooves, becoming something of a cult favorite along the way. Read on
Friday @ Singer Space
A full-bodied slab of math rock leaning heart-on-your-sleeve indie rock - Quadrant, out of Beijing, finds that sweet spot between the woozy and the virtuosic on their robust debut. Tracking the changing seasons not only outside but within themselves, the young earnest band can at times feel like a cross between the more ethereal Glow Curve and the more buoyant Elephant Gym - immersive, affecting, sweeping, and even funky at times. Its soft-spoken dream pop vocals are never undercut by the production - which is far from clean-cut - with some real evocation coming from their instruments. Read on
Saturday @ Singer Space
Swiss trio Schnellertollermeier has been churning out a heady mix of krautrock, math rock, and noise for well over a decade, their brand of invigorating, intoxicating, and endlessly imaginative music. They return to China this week courtesy of SoundFact, who have been on fire as of late with their bookings, for a special showcase at Singer Space. So if you’re itching for complex melodies, trance-like rhythms, high-wire interplay - an uncompromising mix of jazz, punk, and rock that’ll rock you out of your socks - look no further. Read on
Saturday @ Cedar Land
Curated by Shanghai analog collector, manipulator, and ‘aggrandizer of disorganization’ Globe Discount Centre, CAMPAIGN 1 gathers a wide range of Shanghai-based experimental musicians - a motley crew of ‘longtime scene stalwarts, up-and-comers, locals and expats from 3.5 corners of the globe’. Veering from the harsher edge of the noise spectrum with acts like Torturing Nurse to more mischievous and chameleon acts like MAI mai (whose track has the vaguest sense of melody), there’s a lot to take in here. The tape release show looks to be the perfect love letter to Shanghai's noise scene - with an array of musicians and artists looking to test your boundaries. Read on
Saturday @ Cave Art Venue
The black metal scene’s most legendary acts join forces for an epic evening of soul-shattering music. There’s apocalyptic black metal act Death Descents, out of Wuhan, who lean into the theatricality of the genre, offering up a bone-crushing, soul-wavering descent into the depths of hellfire. Tai'an black metal pioneers Dark Fount lean more into the riff-heavy elements of Norwegian black metal, painting its sweeping passages in a turbulence of ‘coldness and fury’. Read on
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