With a population of 8 million, with an additional 4 million inhabiting the fringe of the city, Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, reflects the large population of Indonesia, totaling at 200 million. Almost all forms of culture can be found in Jakarta, brought on by the people coming from all parts of Indonesia, and the world. Various types of music can be heard in Jakarta, from the hits of world’s largest cities to traditional music. It is a fact that the people of Jakarta easily welcome various genres of music.
Music Festival in Jakarta
Since the olden days, Jakarta has been the host of all sorts of music festivals. In 1988, there was the annual international jazz festival known as Jak Jazz. Unfortunately, the Festival was highly affected by the economic crisis in Indonesia and was halted for some time.
In 2005, a senior Indonesian entrepreneur and jazz aficionado, pioneered a jazz extravaganza dubbed Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, better known as Java Jazz Festival (JJF). From the onset, with the support of various jazz communities in Jakarta, designed Java Jazz Festival (JJF) to be the largest jazz festivals in the world and establish itself as a destination festival for renowned jazz musicians.
In its first year, 2005, Java Jazz Festival (JJF) showcased more than 300 performances, on 11 stages. Performing at the first edition of the festival, among which, were James Brown, Deodato, George Duke, Tania Maria, Gilles Peterson, Angie Stone, Lizz Wright, Vinny Valentino, Jeff Lorber and Incognito. There were also renowned Indonesian jazz musicians such as Tohpati, Krakatau, Balawan, Bubi Chen, Trio Ligro, Syaharani, Indra Lesmana, Oele Pattiselanno, Simak Dialog and Elfa’s jazz & Pop.
It was a grand achievement for Indonesia. Initially, the world’s public doubted Indonesians’ capabilities to hold an international-quality festival on the level of prestigious events such as Montreux Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival, two of the most recognized jazz festivals in the world.
Jak Jazz which was halted for some, bounced back in action in 2006. Pioneered by respected jazz icon Ireng Maulana, Jak Jazz 2006 was held in November. Although it was in a much smaller scale compared to Java Jazz Festival, the festival was still an occasion in which jazz enthusiasts agglomerate in camaraderie.
Java Festival Production (JFP), the organizer of Java Jazz Festival (JJF), a festival held every first full weekend of March, in 2007 also began preparation for another festival product. In 2008, for the first time, Jakarta International Soulnation Festival was held in October.
Dedicated to the rhymes and rhythms of urban music, Soulnation Festival presents hip hop, rap, soul, R&B, nu jazz and electro dance music, genres favored by urban youths. In its first year, Soulnation invited the likes of Ashanti, Akon, Blackstreet, Tony!Toni!Tone! and Che’Nelle. Just like Java Jazz Festival (JJF), Soulnation also showcased Indonesian young talents.
In 2009, Jakarta became a host for at least 4 annual international-scale music festivals. In addition to Java Jazz Festival and Soulnation, in 2009, 2 new festivals emerged: java Rockin’land held in August and International Blues Festival in November.
Java Rockin’land was the third international music festival created by Java Festival production. For its premier, Java Rockin’land presented various rock talents, including those also renowned by international rock community, such as Burgerkill, Superman is Dead, Saint Loco, Slank and Killed by Butterfly. In addition, there were also headliners such as Mr. Big, MEW, Melee, Vertical Horizon, Third Eye Blind, Renaissance Blvd., Joujouka and Motherjane.
International Blues Festival, which was motored by Indonesia’s blues community, featured Mike Wilgar and Jan Akkerman. Foreign musicians also had collaborated with blues musicians from Indonesia.
The City of Music Festivals
Jakarta as ‘The City of Music Festivals” was term first coined in article featured in the opinion section of English-language newspaper, The Jakarta Post. Written by Widyasena Sumadio, the article shared the idea of the widening opportunity for Indonesian investors and business players to support the ongoing international music festivals currently held in Jakarta. Investments may come in the form of hotel, restaurant, performance center, café, travel agency and transportation facilities’ development in order to support the festivals. The thought was based on an observation that the audiences attending the festivals are always in need of various facilities, especially since there are thousands of visitors coming from outside of Jakarta and Indonesia.
The article, titled “Jakarta, The City of Music Festivals”, were also spread by a number of Indonesian Embassies of various countries, as one of the latest information reference on Jakarta. The article was even translated to other languages by other sites from Africa and Europe. The Indonesia version emerged later on a number of Indonesian sites.
The tagline, “Jakarta, the City of Music Festivals”, was even used in a billboard of an international music festival endorsed by Jakarta’s Governor, Fauzi Bowo.
Jakarta has become a significant city in Southeast Asia as the host of international music festivals.
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