Rejoice! It’s Time for the Tiger Mountain Ramble: Sean Scanlan on the Ethos of the Ramble 

Author Cat Thomas

Photographer Sean Scanlan

There are certain events on the Taipei social calendar that roll around each year with a reassuring reliability and the Tiger Mountain Ramble, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this Saturday, is one of those.

The venue, perfectly placed on the outskirts of Taipei City, is just a short walk or cab ride up to a de-sanctified temple in its contained grounds on Tiger Mountain and allows attendees to relax for a day of music and catching up in the fresh mountain air. Over the course of the afternoon and evening the event moves seamlessly between family friendly and a slightly more salubrious evening vibe. 

This set up, while welcoming to all, is part of the design of the festival as Taiwan Scene discovered when we caught up with organizer Sean Scanlan in Taipei last month. 

“Tiger Ramble is about, I think, preserving authentic music … about keeping music traditional,” said Scanlan “That’s why it’s campfire, an emphasis on stringed instruments, natural environment, the roots of music.” 

The near-30 acts stretch and blend across genres with live music matched by vinyl DJs in three performance spaces.

Scanlan emphasizes that he sees the Ramble as a break away from the current iteration of “cookie cutter” concerts in baseball stadiums. 

“There’s a component of coming together and sharing ideas,” he explains, adding that one intrinsic factor is that people should be able to hear each other over the music and have the chance to chat to the artists during the day.

Scanlan—who organizes three regular events each year including Daniel Pearl Day and Veggie Fest—credits a childhood memory of a regular family reunion event as the underlying inspiration for the Ramble. His paternal grandfather’s generation was a sprawling Irish family with 14 siblings that gathered each year at a lake house. 

“I think my grandfather’s best friends were his brothers and sisters. So anyways, they would have a party, a family reunion. It would be a huge tub of ice beer. And they would just talk and sometimes they’d play cards.”

One particular year, in the late 80s, the family rented the (now defunct) Eagles Club in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the gathering. Although there was no music it was a time to reflect on family’s year and milestones. 

“And like a year later, I went back to see Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Thelonious. Same venue. And we had more people at family reunions than the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And it was just as fun … So anyways, I wanted to give that to people … the same kind of feeling.”

Scanlan, who emphasizes that the Ramble welcomes the old, the young and family pets, also wants to give the performers the best environment he can to share unique musical experiences with the attendees.

“It’s kind of like a family. So, a lot of the things I do, I think are kind of like a family reunion. Everybody’s really supportive of others.”

Scanlan describes the Ramble as his favorite of the events he organizes. 

“I think people look forward to it. You make that turn down the hill, and you kind of know you’re at the party, you know?”

Although Tiger Mountain has become reasonably popular as an event space, the Ramble has a distinctly different vibe. Whether you are planning to catch up with long-time friends or meet new ones (perhaps as you settle into Taipei) it’s a uniquely pleasant day and evening out. 

“It’s only one day a year,” observes Scanlan. “If you miss it, you miss it.”

What to Expect for the 10^th Anniversary Ramble

The Ramble features the Outdoor stage, Temple stage, and DJ stage plus numerous stalls including clothing, accessories, and crafts vendors. Meaning that there’s something for everyone, whether you want to dance your socks off, meander between spaces, just hang out and chitchat, or settle in for a cup of local tea at the Serendipitea tearoom.

Alongside the live music, vinyl DJs, and food and drink vendors, there’s plenty of space for kids to hang out and run around (it’s free entry for kids too), clean bathrooms, and a campfire in the evening. It’s a mixed crowd with families tending to meander off home around dusk/early evening. 

On top of the numerous local acts, both established and new, each stage has a Japanese act guest slot. At 8pm Of Tropique an ‘exotic instrumental band from Tokyo’ takes the Outdoor stage, the Temple stage sees Fuji Rock stalwart DJ TXAKO playing ‘mestizo and global beats straight outta Tokyo’ at around 10pm, plus expect the unexpected from music journalist and festival guru Koichi “Hana-G” Hanafusa at 6.30 pm on the DJ stage. 

Also of particular note is that this will one of the last chances to catch Taipei’s beloved jug band The Muddy Basin Ramblers playing with the Paradise family in their lineup at 6.45 pm on the Outdoor stage. 

Food & Drink: As usual, you’ll be spoilt for choice: Indian food, Indonesian food, lamb chops, tacos, veggie tacos, pizza, Aussie pies, smoothies, tea….

It’s also worth pointing out that the prices of beers (NT$150/pint Red Point and Carlberg/NT$180 for IPA) have remained the same for all ten years of the event. Reasonably priced cocktails are also available from the cocktail bar. 

What To Bring

With an ever-watchful eye on trying to keep waste to a minimum, the organizers strongly encourage people to bring their own reusable cups and will also have a tenth anniversary commemorative steel cups available on the day (NT$150).

Also, although December has been mild, be aware that once the sun goes in it will be nippy up on the mountain, so bring a wrap or jacket to stay warm. In the case of light rain, one can’t go wrong with a 7-11 poncho in the back pocket to pop on so you can keep on dancing.