AXEAN Festival 2024's incredible lineup is filled with the best of independent music from Southeast Asia and East Asia. And while there is certainly an embarrassment of indie talent on offer, 3 of the festival's most exciting bands hail from Taiwan. 

The Chairs (椅子樂團), The Dinosaur’s Skin (恐龍的皮) and I’mdifficult (我是機車少女) will each be making their Indonesian debut at the forthcoming event, set to take place in Bali from 28 to 29 September at Jimbaran Hub.  Here's a little primer on why you should go out of your way to catch their sets.

The Chairs is acclaimed trio from Taichung who've won the prestigious Golden Melody Award in 2019 for their album LOVELY SUNDAY. They've toured across Japan, China, Australia and Singapore last year, before embarking on another China tour this year in support of their latest album The Great Escape Of Our Time. In 2023, they performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and are also set to Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival on 20 September.

The Chairs play on 28 September, 7:15PM at Circle Stage.

The Dinosaur’s Skin is an enigmatic duo made up of dinosaurs named Trex and Triceratops. As their tragic backstory goes: they hail from the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago and survived mass extinction by travelling through a wormhole to modern-day Taipei, where they now make songs to mourn their lost friends. This primarily English-language band has garnered buzz for their unique live performances, and fantastic 1st first EP Millions of Years Apart, which was nominated at the 32nd Golden Melody Awards. The band have also played Taiwanese Waves at New York’s Central Park in 2023 and SXSW Austin this year.

The Dinosaur’s Skin plays on 29 September, 9:00PM at Sunset Stage.

I’mdifficult is one of the most exciting up-and-coming bands from Taiwan. The experimental pop group from Taipei made waves with their self-titled latest albumreleased last December, which received glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. This year, they have played major festivals in Taiwan such as Megaport, and completed a successful Japan tour. Later this year, they will also be featured at SXSW Sydney.

⁠I’mdifficult plays on 28 September, 4:45PM at TuneCore Village Stage.