Performance Stages for International Stars – Nangang Exhibition Hall and Taipei Arena

Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall (台北世界貿易中心南港展覽館) is the preferred venue among big international bands and singers. The biggest names from the USA, England, Japan, South Korea, and many another land has played here, notably Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Kylie Minogue, L'Arc-en-Ciel, X Japan, and Shinhwa.

The Nangang facility, formally opened in 2008, is Taiwan's largest indoor exhibition/performance venue. The main exhibition area is spread over two floors, including an upper space called the Sky Dome (雲端展場). It's expansive: around 3.5 soccer fields in size, and is free of obstructing pillars — perfect for large-scale concerts, especially if special stage design and large props and sets are involved. The broad, unobstructed space allows entertainers maximum creative range.

Another place that has been utilized by a stellar lineup of international entertainers is the Taipei Arena (臺北小巨蛋), opened in 2005. The list of heavyweight names that have played here includes A-Mei (張惠妹), Andy Lau (劉德華), Aaron Kwok (郭富城), Sarah Brightman, Namie Amuro, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Arashi. The venue can facilitate a full range of performance types; it's five stories high, and the main show space can seat 15,000. Producers can select from a number of stage types, bringing audience members into the world of illusion and fantasy performers seek to create. On the second level is a barrier-free balcony for use by those with limited mobility, along with their companions. The careful design of the Taipei Arena has made it a prime choice among visiting big-name international artists.

Music Spaces with a History – Legacy Taipei and Pipe Live Music

Legacy Taipei (傳—台北音樂傳記) is located in Huashan 1914 Creative Park. This old factory complex was once a site for alcohol production, and today, after extensive renovation, is one of the city's key sites for cultural events. The Legacy facility has been redone in “studio” style, measuring just over 740 square meters, and has a ceiling 8 meters high. There is no visual obstruction by high columns. While the basic historical appearance of the structure has been maintained, there is flexibility for transformation into whichever type of performance configuration is needed. This allows performers to bring their artistic skills into full play, and enables direct interaction with the audience. Artists and fans are brought into intimate contact – a performance venue that puts the music first.

Since its opening in 2010, Legacy has played host to an impressive array of major local and international performers. Numerous new groups have also turned in blockbuster performances here, making a name for themselves. A new wave of talented Taiwan singers that includes Afu (阿福), Aska Yang (楊宗緯), Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰), and Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) has made this a sought-after venue for creative artists.

Pipe Live Music is located by Taipei Water Park (自來水園區), and is housed in an old pumping station built over a century ago; you can still see some of the heavy-duty pumps and other gear. Needless to say, this makes Pipe Live Music a most unusual and attractive venue, making tourists of music fans. This performance space complements the Gongguan Riverside Integrated Development Plan (公館水岸總體發展計畫), winner of a FIABCI Prix d'Excellence Award, which has beautified the nearby Xindian River (新店溪) waterfront. Audiences who come here for the music will also be rewarded by the lovely scenery. This venue, measuring well over 300 square meters, is an oasis devoted to indie music, and is the place to experience the experimental sounds of a new generation, and feel the passion that Taiwan musicians have for independent, unfettered musical expression.

Fresh Forces in Pop Music Show Spaces – NTU Sports Center and Taipei Pop Music Center

The doors opened at the National Taiwan University Sports Center (臺大綜合體育館) in 2001. The center is primarily for the use of the university, but because it's spacious, can seat 5,500, and has a large-scale media wall, it's often booked for international meetings, cultural-arts performances, professional sporting events, and other occasions. Its proximity to a dense student residential area and the MRT Gongguan Station has made it a popular choice for shows by pop singers of light to moderate renown. Among the names to have appeared on the marquee in recent years have been such fast-rising names as the Taiwan band F.I.R. (飛兒樂團) and singer Cheer Chen, Chinese-Malaysian singers Fish Leong (梁靜茹) and Penny Dai (戴佩妮), and hot Japanese and Korean acts such as JAM Project, 2PM, and BEAST.

The opening of the Taipei Pop Music Center (北部流行音樂中心) in four years is much anticipated. The multifunctional complex will have a main indoor performance hall with seating for 4,500 to 6,000 and an outdoor performance facility with seating for 15,000, plus a music hall of fame, exhibition space, digital library, small/medium-sized live house, theme park, industrial community, and more. The facility will be fully integrated for staging performances, post-production, marketing and development of talent, and information distribution. The complex is being built in Nangang District (南港區), near MRT Kunyang Station, with construction to start in 2013 and finish in 2016.

Taiwan's pop and indie music are distinctive and iconic brands on the Chinese music scene, and the existence of the Taipei Pop Music Center will further strengthen and add a spark to local pop talent by supplying the best and most complete facilities. The best news of all for music lovers, of course, is that this will be yet another place hosting the best in worldwide talent, concert after concert. In Taipei, the music will never stop.