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2026 TAIWANfest Opening Event: When the Mountains Sing

Saturday, 5 September 2026 at 19:00 GMT-7

Vancouver Playhouse

600 Hamilton St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 2P1, CA

2026 TAIWANfest invites audiences into a cultural dialogue through music and language! Wander through the beautiful mountains of Taitung with the Nanwang Sisters, as their powerful voices harmonize the songs of the Pinuyumayan people. Discover the unlimited potential of the Taiwanese Hakka language with ZiXuan & Slow Train, a band that fearlessly and playfully experiments with new genres for a new generation. Featuring music artists from Taiwan singing in their mother tongue, this year’s Opening Event weaves together memory, heritage, and innovation.    The Nanwang Sisters—Samingad, Lavaus, and I hua—represent a highly symbolic generation in the development of Taiwan’s Indigenous music. They grew up during a time when society was still rife with prejudice against Indigenous identity, an era when many singers were forced to conceal their Indigenous background or were cast by the mainstream market as “mountain singers.” Yet the Nanwang Sisters chose music as a means of resistance and healing—using their voices to preserve their mother tongue, recount memories, and redefine the meaning of “singing their own songs.” The 2009 self-titled album Nanwang Sisters won Best Vocal Group, Best Indigenous Language Album, and Best Album Producer at the 20th Golden Melody Awards, marking a milestone in which Indigenous music was officially recognized by mainstream culture. Subsequent works, including the album Baliwakes and the musical It’s Been a Long Time Since You Honoured Me, further blended Indigenous memory with the modern stage, reconstructing the life narratives of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples through the interplay of music and theatre. The music of the Nanwang Sisters deserves to be heard by the world—not because of who they represent, but because their voices heal the wounds of a generation and allow the world to hear the dignity that Indigenous peoples continue to sing of, even amidst colonization, displacement, and neglect. Through their harmonies, “the mountains” become

Tickets

CAD 15–20

Listing source

Showpass public Discovery API

Categories

gig

Genre

music · music, fairs_and_festivals, community_and_culture, taiwanfest, taiwan, nanwang sisters, zixuan & slow train

Local event time

Canada/Pacific

Page status

scheduled