TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Not wanting to be outdone by nearby Kaohsiung, Pingtung is hitting back with two major free music festivals that will bookend the Tomb Sweeping Holiday.

Taiwan Music Festival (April 1-3) takes place at Kenting Dawan Beach (大灣), the heart of this vacation town, which doubles as a spring break getaway for college students. Modeled after the nearby Megaport Festival, Taiwan Music Festival features indie music and up and coming artists with some 400,000 visitors expected over three days, per UDN.

The following weekend, Pingtung Spring Music Festival (April 4-7), gets underway, a festival appealing to older concertgoers, which will be held on the lawn outside Pingtung City County Gym. This festival features mainstream pop singers like Tanya Chua (蔡健雅),Ting Ting (蕭秉治), FEniX, Karencici Lam (林愷倫), and more.

Pingtung County Government says it strives to create a safe and healthy environment. It added that drug detection dogs and police have been deployed to the Hengchun Peninsula for the past three days.

Those attending Taiwan Music Festival will be treated to performances by deca joins, Chairman (董事長樂團), and DJ Jerry Luo (羅百吉). Last minute travelers should know Kenting is straining under the volume of hotel reservations with guests spilling over into nearby Hengchun and Checheng Township to book accommodations.

Taiwan Music Festival will also feature a “battle of the bands” competition with 300 groups from Taiwan and abroad participating, narrowing to the top 10 who will participate in a finals competition on April 3.

Pingtung County Government said it was eager to put the COVID pandemic in the past and to make up for the cancelation of the Taiwan Music Festival last year, it increased the number of stages from three to five this year with more than 100 performing groups.

Taiwan Music Festival has also added activities such as dodge ball, football, and an outdoor cinema. Also, 50 stalls will offer everything from hair braiding, weaving, henna tattoos, and food.

For more information, visit the Taiwan Festival website and the Pingtung Spring Music Festival website.