Indie pop duo to play Olympic Hall on July 16 While idol group-centered K-pop has been heavily covered by the media, the Korean indie music scene has received relatively little attention. Seeking diversity of Korean music, The Korea Herald is starting a series of interview articles shedding light on the Korean indie music scene. ― Ed. The 1990s is often called “golden age of Korean pop” because...

Classical Music “2011 Ditto Festival”: Male-chamber ensemble Ditto, led by violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, is to hold its annual summer festival from June 22-July 3 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall and Hoam Art Hall. Highlights of the festival will include Ditto and Parker Quartet’s duo recital on June 25 at the SAC at 2 p.m. The duo program will feature Debbusy’s String Quartet in g min...

Lila Downs “En Paris o Live Á Fip” Music Compass Born to a Mexican-Indian mother and Scottish-American father in the U.S., singer-songwriter Lila Downs is quite mysterious in that she taps into both Mexican traditional music and pop. The 42-year-old mestizo’s latest album “En Paris o Live Á Fip” collects her songs performed for France’s FIP radio station in 2009. Songs like “La Cucarach” and “...

The Visit Korea Year Committee said it has kicked off the 2011 K-pop cover dance festival at www.coverdance.org. The committee will conduct an online preliminary competition until July 24. Applicants around the world can submit their K-pop cover dance video to the webpage. In countries where the registered videos get the most hits and “recommended” buttons clicks, the committee will run a secon...

The highlights of two upcoming K-pop concerts in Paris will be broadcast on YouTube and Facebook. SM Entertainment plans to hold the “SM Town World Tour in Paris” concerts on June 10 and June 11 at Le Zenith de Paris as part of the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year(s), the country’s largest entertainment agency said. The company added the June 11 show after hundreds of French K-pop fans in May rallied...

CHICAGO (AP) ― The violin isn’t pretty, but its scratched frame has been well-loved by the girl who cradles it now, and those who played it before her. Her mother calls it her daughter’s “soul mate.” The instrument doesn’t belong to Nidalis Burgos. It is on loan from her school, where the seventh-grader packs it up each weekday to bring it home. She practices anywhere she can ― in her bedroom, ...

Classical Music “Seoul Philharmonic Explorer Series II”: French conductor Ludovic Morlot and violinist Kang Hae-sun will collaborate with The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra for its “Explorer Series II” on Ibert, Manoury and Mussorgsky on June 23 at 8 p.m. at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall. The series aims to broaden the repertoire of the Korean classical music scene by exploring less touched...

Beastie Boys “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two” Warner Music Korea American hip hop trio Beastie Boys has released their eighth studio album “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two,” four years after the 2007 album “The Mix-Up.” Since their debut in 1979, the hardcore punk rappers have sold more than 16 million albums. Although the new album title says “Part Two,” there is no “Hot Sauce Committee Part One....

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― MTV says Reese Witherspoon will receive its Generation Award at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. The 35-year-old Oscar winner is being recognized for her range as an actress and for delighting the MTV audience throughout her career. MTV President Stephen Friedman called Witherspoon “one of the most versatile and accomplished performers of her time.” “Saturday Night Live” star Jason...