Despite Taiwan's growing popularity as a tourist destination — the island nation of awe-inspiring nature, sweet bubble tea, and lively night markets welcomed 9.6 million visitors between 2023 and 2024 — the Taiwanese music landscape is a hidden gem, especially when compared to the international explosion of K-pop and J-pop. However, the musical textures of Taiwan are just as diverse as the bubble tea options found on the island.
American military presence in the 1960s — a period commonly known as the White Terror, where an authoritarian government ruled Taiwan with an iron fist — influenced the birth of the band tradition in Taiwan. During this time, younger Taiwanese musicians drew from the popular Western genres of rock ‘n' roll. In the '70s, a campus folk music movement encouraged young musicians to "sing our own songs," and those ethos continue to impact the Taiwanese music industry to this day. In fact, some of the bands on this list were created through band competitions hosted through colleges.
Taiwanese Mandopop heavy hitters such as Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai have been making their marks on the Chinese-language and international music markets since the early 2000s. Veterans such as sodagreen and Mayday are celebrating multiple decades in the public eye this summer. Global recognition of these legendary Taiwanese bands has steadily grown in recent years; sodagreen recently concluded their tour across Europe and Australia.
Newer acts poised to capture the attention of Taiwanese and global listeners also call the island nation home. From classic rock and experimental genres to simple stories from life and relatable songs overflowing with angst, here are eight Taiwanese bands that need to be on your radar — and on your playlists.
Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車)
Tseng Kuo-Hung (vocals/guitar), Chen Hung-Li (bass), Lo Tsun-Lung (drums), Wang shao-Hsuan (keyboard) and Huang Hao-Ting (saxophone) make up the "romantic pop band" created in 2009. In their bio on Spotify, Sunset Rollercoaster notes their "DIY spirit and garage-punk energy." The quintet's discography is informed by a unique blend of cultural influences found in Taiwan, as well as Japanese city pop and American rock, soul, and R&B.
2016's "My Jinji" showcases Sunset Rollercoaster's experimental yet comforting sound. Small details in the instrumental, including an intentional guitar stagger here and a wispy note sung there, paint images of summer nights, campfires and loves that feel like they could last forever.
Although their band is based in Taipei, they strive to make global connections through their music. Take Sunset Rollercoaster’s recent collaboration album, AAA, with Korean indie band HYUKOH: Made in Taiwan and Korea, mixed together with an array of genres and played around the world, AAA means connection in unexpected places.
As a follow-up, the two bands also released a live version of their AAA TOUR BY HYUKOH & SUNSET ROLLERCOASTER. The 11-stop tour featured performances in Seoul, Kaohsiung and Tokyo. Sunset Rollercoaster and HYUKOH’s collaborative work earned the bands seven nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards (GMA), which is known as the "GRAMMYs of the Mandarin pop world."
Plus, fun fact: Sunset Rollercoaster’s Kuo helped produce the emotive "come back to me," a cut from BTS leader RM’s second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person. Sunset Rollercoaster even created a live cover version of the track, featuring a smooth saxophone section and Kuo’s soothing vocals.
sodagreen
Initially formed in 2001 and known as "蘇打綠" (Sūdǎlǜ) in Chinese, this name is a portmanteau of "soda" and vocalist Qing-Feng’s favorite color, "green," in both Chinese and in English. Bassist Hsin-Yi, drummer Xiao Wei, keyboardist A-Gong, and guitarists A-Fu and Jia-Kai round out the group. Like some of the other bands on this list, sodagreen’s members met through a music competition hosted at a college (in this case, the Golden Melody Cup at National Chengchi University in Taipei).
Sodagreen have released 11 studio albums and the impressive Vivaldi Project, which blends sodagreen’s rock sound with the composer’s ambitious classical works. Sodagreen has also swept Golden Melody Awards, most notably the 2016 ceremony, where the band won five awards for Winter Endless, including Best Mandarin Album and Best Band.
It was not always sunny skies for the band, however. Due to trademark disputes, the six members were no longer able to use "sodagreen." To circumvent this situation, sodagreen became "Oaeen" in 2020, which is a play on both their English and Chinese names. During this experimental period, the band released the bright and hopeful "Tomorrow will be fine" as a reminder to both fans and themselves. In May 2022, the band reclaimed the "sodagreen" name and are currently on their 20th anniversary tour, which has made stops in Taiwan, Australia and Europe.
GoodBand 好樂團
GoodBand formed in 2015 and debuted with the single "Youth to You" in the same year. The two decided on "GoodBand" (or 好樂團 hǎo yuètuán in Chinese) in a little moment of language play. "女" (nǚ) means female, while "子" (zǐ) means son; when you put these two characters together, they make 好 (hǎo). Although hǎo has many meanings, its most basic translation is "good."
GoodBand’s folk and indie rock sound drew in listeners immediately. GoodBand’s debut track, for example, accumulated over 15 million views on YouTube alone. The band’s no-fuss songs capture the heart of young people, their challenges and their minds. A year after the duo debuted, they embarked on a three-city tour around Taiwan, stopping in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung along the west coast of the country.
In the summer of 2020, the duo GoodBand released the track that would become an anthem for Taiwanese youth. "The Useless Young Man" starts off with Ching strumming a guitar in a minor key. Then vocalist Wen Hsu softly pierces a question at listeners: "Will you be like me?" But it’s not a question GoodBand are expecting an answer to. As the track slowly builds — with percussion and strings joining in the chorus — Ching and Wen Hsu pour the complexity and frustration of youth into their vocals and songwriting.
In 2021, GoodBand nabbed the independent artist song of the year prize for "The Useless Young Man" at Taiwan’s PlayMusic Awards. Earlier this month, the duo performed at festivals like Urban Life Festival in Tainan and Yoi-hi in Yunlin. These shows followed the release of their new single, "Sorry Mom," in May.
Mayday (五月天）
Taiwanese legends Mayday are hosting shows in Taipei at the end of the month. To celebrate their 25th debut anniversary, the "Beatles of the Chinese-speaking world" will perform eight times between June 27 and July 12 — and this is only in the capital of Taiwan.
Formed in 1997 when they were teens, Mayday consists of leader and guitarist Monster, vocalist Ashin, rhythm guitarist Stone, bassist Masa and drummer Guan-You. Mayday reflected their love of English bands and the growing Taiwanese youth culture. In 1999, the pioneering five-piece band dropped their first self-titled album, which featured mid-tempo ballads and a garage band sound alongside Ashin’s recognizable tenor. Besides sharing songs in Mandarin, they also sing in Taiwanese Hokkien (as in "Garbage Truck"), bringing their Taiwanese identity and their communities to the forefront.
Twenty-five years later, Mayday remains known for their heartfelt songs that possess an uncanny ability to express what you’re never able to say out loud. Having met in high school, Mayday captures the nuances of youth through their signature rock flavor. Whether listeners scream-sing, cry, dance or laugh with friends while taking in a Mayday song, there truly is a track for every stage of life in the band’s discography.
Beyond their awards — which number in the 30s and include multiple Golden Melody Awards for Best Mandarin Album — Mayday has left their mark around the world. Since 2004, the band have embarked on global tours and left a legacy of firsts, including becoming the first Mandarin-speaking band to perform at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2014.
Accusefive 告五人
The trio behind Accusefive (Chinese name: 告五人 gào wǔ rén) came up with their band name in the most random of places: a bulletin board outside of a courthouse in Yilan County, located on Taiwan’s east coast. While there, the three members all pointed to one word on the board: "告" (to sue), "五" (the number five), and "人" (person) were the fated Chinese characters destined to create Accusefive.
Comprised of vocalist and guitarist Pan Yun-an, singer Chuan Ching (Tsai Hsin-lun) and drummer Richard Lin, Accusefive digs deep into emotions that we would rather push away, sharing very human stories in a rock and folk rock style. The barebones production of "We Will Be Fine" highlights the late sleepers and early risers; a story about Taiwanese life before the sun has touched the horizon to shine.
A year after they dropped their debut EP, 迷霧之子 (Mistborn), Accusefive won the Best New Artist award at the 9th Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) in 2018. In 2023, the trio also snatched up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open Coldplay in Taipei. Later that year, Accusefive embarked on their very own world tour, performing 34 shows in Taiwan, Europe, North America, China and Australia. The trio were awarded Song of the Year at the 2024 Golden Melody Awards for "We Will Be Fine."
緩緩 Huan Huan
Founded in 2016, indie band Huan Huan encourages listeners to take life slowly. Their name in Mandarin Chinese is pronounced "huǎn huǎn" and means "slowly" in the language. Inspiration struck vocalist and songwriter Coco while taking a shower: "At that time, I though the repeating characters [緩緩] were cute, so I shared it with the group members, and [they] said it was great." she said in an interview. "And maybe because my movements are slow."
Calm and intentional, that is what Huan Huan are about. Guitarist Myles, drummer Yi Jen and bassist Stone round out the Taipei-based band known for their songs drawn from life. Their discography soaks in the present, the moment at hand. From shoegaze ("Dying Love") to electric-guitar-forward tracks ("Heatwave") to even some jazz-influenced twists ("Words Unsaid"), the four-piece band often channels a "soft yet resilient" vibe.
Huan Huan released their debut, self-titled single album in 2017 and followed with three more singles before releasing their first full-length, Water Can Go Anywhere, in 2020. This project clinched them a Best New Artist nomination at the 2021 Golden Indie Music Awards. International tours and festivals followed; however, some of the festival shows were remote or cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But that didn’t stop Huan Huan from making their music nor from sharing it with local and international listeners. This past spring, Huan Huan embarked on their Asia tour, making stops in Tokyo, Shanghai and Guangzhou, among other locations.
But the performances that truly speaks to Huan Huan as a band were their "緩緩到你家" (Huan Huan Goes to Your House) summer shows. From late April to late July of last year, Coco, Myles, Yi Jen and Stone asked fans on Instagram whether they would be interested in hosting a small Huan Huan concert at their homes. These local performances brought together friends, family and strangers from around Taiwan, who all gathered to welcome Huan Huan and bask in their healing music.
椅子樂團 The Chairs
The Chairs members Yong Jing, Zhong Ying and Bo Yuan (Benson) were in high school when they signed up for a singing contest and needed to choose a name for their band. With the entry deadline approaching quickly, ther group looked to a chair they used as percussion while rehearsing for this contest; they hastily wrote down "The Chairs" and it stuck.
Zhong, Jing and Benson were classmates in high school in Taichung, a county located on the west coast of Taiwan, and started writing their own songs and entering competitions while in university. For their first songwriting competition, The Chairs entered their track "Golden Age Blues." The new band won, and now the song is memorialized on their debut album. Titled Cheers!Land, this project opens with "島" (dǎo). Meaning "island" in Chinese, the band draws on imagery of their homeland — an island itself — complete with skeletal production of an acoustic guitar. Now based in Taipei, the three-member group released two new singles in 2024, including "Survivor."
The Chairs blend Mandarin, English, Japanese and Taiwanese lyrics along with a light and open sound. Pulling inspiration from Mandopop, the Beatles, Mr. Big and Jason Mraz, The Chairs tell authentic stories about the unexpected magic of everyday life. "All of our songs are records of moving moments that actually happened," the band said.
Although The Chairs lean into an indie sound, their music has been making waves in the island nation and beyond. In 2019, they won Best Vocal Group at the 30th Golden Melody Awards. Earlier this year, The Chairs performed around Japan.
Elephant Gym
If you’re looking for musicians with an experimental edge, look no further than Elephant Gym. Formed in 2012, the trio comprises bassist KT (Chang Kai-ting), her brother and guitarist Tell (Chang Kai-hsiang) and drummer Tu Chia-Chen. Through their 13 years as a band, Elephant Gym has brought their own flavor of math-rock — a genre known for its unusual time signatures that emerged first in the United States in the 1980s — to Taiwan and beyond.
Although math-rock occasionally utilizes vocals, Elephant Gym often chooses to share their stories solely through their instruments, with a particular emphasis on the bass. "The three of us have a lot to say, but we express ourselves through our instruments rather than a lead vocalist, which allows each of us to contribute our own voice," KT shared with Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. Notable tracks such as "Spring Rain" and "Feather" push jazz, funk, and strong basslines to the forefront while also reflecting the playfulness found in the band’s name. They experiment; they explore; and most importantly, they have fun.
With performances at music festivals around the world — including Summer Sonic and Fuji Rock in Japan, Camp Flog Gnaw and SXSW in the U.S. as well as Longdon Portals Festival in the UK — Elephant Gym’s discography clearly resonates. The trio even took home the Jury Award at the Golden Melody Awards last year for their album World世界. While Elephant Gym couldn’t fit every part of the globe into their 2023-24 world tour, they tried their best, with stops across the U.S. (like Portland and Seattle), Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia and Taiwan.