The outdoor rock-and-roll Midi Music Festival just ended last week, but another one - the Strawberry Music Festival - followed shortly thereafter. It was held over the Labor Day Holiday in Shanghai's Expo Park.

Fashion, passion and youth, these are the key words of this year's Strawberry Music Festival in Shanghai. It's the first time French rock band Tahiti 80 has performed at a music festival in Shanghai. The band has played in dozens of other countries throughout Asia, Europe and South America. Its lead singer and co-founder said the members are surprised by the audience in Shanghai.

Xavier Boyer, singer of Tahiti 80, said, "I feel that people are very familiar with the culture, the rock culture. It's very surprising to play here, because you don't feel like you're playing far away from home. You feel like ease, and people are not shy. People are responding to the music and dance."

While the Midi Music Festival focused more on rock music, the Strawberry Music Festival includes a wider variety of music, including pop, folk and jazz. The three-day festival features 80 artists and bands worldwide playing on four stages.

Rachel Frost, the festival goer, said, "I like all kinds of international music, a little bit hip hop, also I'm from America so of course we like some indie rock there. This festival is good because I can see a lot of different music."

Chen Yingjun, the festival goer, said, "I'm happy to see more musical activities in Shanghai. I've been to music festivals in Beijing, and always thought that Beijing was doing better. I will blog about what I saw here tonight."

La Mu, singer of Xiban, said, "Young people born in the 1980s and 90s prefer such music festivals because they focus on personalities, especially in the Internet era."

The Strawberry Music Festival was first held in Beijing in 2009. This is its first time in Shanghai, and it has attracted more than 30,000 fans. Organizers said future annual festivals will happen in both cities.

(CNTV.cn May 3, 2012)