By KHT Staff. Image via Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau.
KAOHSIUNG — Kuomintang mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) has proposed holding a major outdoor music festival at Tianliao Moon World (田寮月世界), comparing the idea to California’s Coachella festival.
Ko raised the proposal during an interview with NOWnews about how she would develop Kaohsiung’s concert economy if elected mayor.
She said Moon World’s distinctive badlands landscape could provide a setting for a “Taiwan-style Coachella,” moving part of the city’s music programming beyond its existing stadiums and urban venues.
The proposal remains preliminary. Ko did not provide an expected audience size, budget, timetable or specific location within Moon World. The interview also did not address transportation, noise, environmental protection or whether the site could support a large multi-day festival.
Ko said her earlier work as one of the original hosts of the television program Entertainment News gave her experience with the music and film industries. She said she would consult entertainment promoters, including figures involved in bringing Korean acts to Taiwan and Kaohsiung-based concert organizer Kham Inc.
She also said she would continue supporting different forms of music, including independent bands and the Megaport Festival, if they retained public and commercial support.
The comments respond partly to questions about whether Kaohsiung’s concert strategy would continue after Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) leaves office. Chen’s administration has used concerts by Taiwanese and international performers to attract visitors and increase spending at hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
Ko said her proposed “concert economy 2.0” would include reasonable rental charges for public venues. She argued that the revenue could be used to improve facilities such as toilets and lighting rather than making venues prohibitively expensive for organizers.
She also supported measures such as real-name ticketing to limit scalping.
Asked which performers she would personally like to bring to Kaohsiung, Ko named Sting and Aerosmith. She did not suggest that either had been contacted or booked.
Aerosmith retired from touring in 2024 after lead singer Steven Tyler suffered a vocal injury, although individual members have since made limited appearances.
