WayV and THE EITHER Bring New Sounds of Chinese Music to Central Park

Mandarin lyrics rang through Central Park on Sunday night as fans from different cultural backgrounds sang along with WayV at a free SummerStage concert showcasing the changing sounds of contemporary Chinese music.

Presented by SummerStage in association with the China Institute of America, the concert at Rumsey Playfield featured Chinese-language pop group WayV, New York-based experimental band THE EITHER and DJ Chopstix. Their performances moved across pop, R&B, hip-hop, progressive rock and electronic music while drawing on elements of traditional Chinese music and opera.

The event was part of the China Institute of America's centennial celebration. Founded in New York in 1926, the organization has promoted understanding of China through education, the arts and public programs for the past century. In her opening remarks, President Jin Yu said the institute hopes to enter its second century by engaging younger and more diverse audiences through new forms of cultural expression.

For WayV, the concert marked the group's first public appearance in New York. In an interview shortly after the performance, the members described the city as both familiar and surprising. Having encountered New York countless times through films and video games, Xiaojun said arriving in person felt like "déjà vu" — recognizable, yet entirely new.

He said the group had thoroughly enjoyed performing at SummerStage and was moved by the enthusiasm of the crowd. The reaction was especially meaningful because several of WayV's songs were being performed in New York for the first time.

Asked what they hoped international audiences would take away from the performance, WayV leader Kun said the group wanted to present Chinese music as diverse and open while showing a generation of young Chinese performers who are "confident, open and creative."

Most of WayV's songs are performed in Chinese, and Kun said he hoped overseas listeners would become curious about both the language and the cultural meanings behind the lyrics. "They may look up what each line means," he said.

The members said they feel particularly proud when international audiences sing along in Chinese. Xiaojun noted that some WayV songs contain challenging literary expressions, including language influenced by classical Chinese, yet fans in New York were still able to follow the lyrics closely.

Yangyang recalled meeting an overseas fan who had begun studying Chinese because they wanted to understand the group's songs. When the two met again about three years later, the fan was able to speak with him fluently in Chinese. "That made me feel especially proud," Yangyang said.

WayV also previewed its forthcoming album, Vision Wings, a project centered on a Chinese-inspired concept the members said they had long hoped to explore. Kun said the title track incorporates traditional Chinese musical elements and will be available in both Chinese and English.

Hendery added that the album's visual storytelling draws inspiration from figures associated with ancient Chinese history. The members adopted different character references and incorporated imagery including traditional instruments, calligraphy, fans and weapons, placing elements of Chinese aesthetics within a contemporary pop production.

THE EITHER approached Chinese musical expression from a more experimental direction. The New York-based band describes its sound as "Post-Orientalism," combining electrified traditional instruments and Chinese opera-inspired vocals with progressive rock and contemporary production.

In an interview before the concert, the band said Chinese culture should not be confined to familiar images of calligraphy, painting or classical music. It could also be fresh, powerful and explosive. The group's name reflects that philosophy: artists do not have to choose between traditional and modern, or Eastern and Western — they can be "this" and also "that."

Together, WayV and THE EITHER offered two distinct visions of how Chinese music can move forward: one through globally oriented pop and the other through experimental reinterpretations of traditional sound. As the Central Park crowd joined the Mandarin choruses, the language became part of a shared experience — heard and repeated by listeners whose connection to the music extended far beyond geography.

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