Energy emanated off the stage where rotating artists performed. Joy surged through the audience as they discovered new things about themselves.
Young Asians Represent opened the gates of the first Asian music festival in Texas this weekend. It welcomed international stars, such as the North Star Boys and Rei Ami, to rock out the night while local favorites played throughout the day. The event took place at Round Rock Amp, about 25 minutes outside of Austin, and hosted 27 performances. Asian-owned businesses and food stalls made up the event’s night market opposite the stage.
The event and stage producer, Nita Teng, said she grew up feeling like she had to hide her story as an Asian American girl. Teng said she believes the festival is full of trailblazers, creating a place for Asian artists in Texas to share their stories.
“(The festival) is a space to tell the Asian American story,” Teng said. “You get to a certain age where your story just eats away at you if you don’t share it. … It’s that whole journey which inspired me to create spaces where our stories can be told, either through words, songs, design, colors, art or food.”
The festival aims to use bigger international artists to create audiences for local talent, Teng said. For some artists such as Andy Yu and Cassio Stella, the event was their first performance at a festival. Andy Yu, an indie pop artist from Dallas, rocked the stage with upbeat music that had the audience dancing along. He said he aims to guide listeners to use their imagination and escape reality.
“Seeing all these Asian artists come from so many different walks of life and show the diversity and variety in our experiences as well as being able to share a commonality of music is a beautiful thing,” Yu said. “I don’t think anyone on stage is similar to one another, but we all found a passion through music and express ourselves that way.”
Cassio Stella is an interpersonal communications alumna and an up-and-coming pop rock musician. She said she could feel the energy of each artist on and off the stage.
“Hearing the music and their perspective makes me feel like I’m not alone,” Stella said. “Being half Filipino, I never felt Asian enough to give back to a community that I’m only part of. It’s nice that they’ve embraced
me wholeheartedly.”
Teresa Lin, a medical laboratory sciences senior, spent her weekend working at the Young Asian Represent Music Festival. She said her involvement helped her feel connected to her Taiwanese roots.
“It’s always been a big deal that I can walk somewhere and be like, ‘This is community,’” Lin said. “Everything is uplifting. I feel strongly about this when I recognize these people from my community.
