02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
An hour outside Ulaanbaatar, on the steppe in the Gachuurt Valley, every July there is Playtime. Three days of programming on a stage built into the grassland with the wind coming straight off the steppe and nothing behind it for two hundred miles. The lineup runs the entire Mongolian rock and indie scene plus an opening sacred-music programme that features throat-singing ensembles and morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) players. The camping is in gers. The food is mutton on coals. The night sky is the most-stars-per-square-mile sky in Asia.
The opening day's throat-singing programme often features the country's best khöömei vocalists. Don't skip it for the main rock stages.
Mongolia's only credible entry. Steppe-and-throat-singing slot, the only festival on Earth where you camp in gers and listen to the wind between sets.
Annual, three days in early July. Mongolian summer is the comfortable listening season. The opening day's throat-singing programme is the editorial peak.
Annual three-day festival, July. Camping on the steppe in gers. Daytime workshops and throat-singing 10:00 to 17:00; main rock and indie programme 17:00 to midnight.
Fly Ulaanbaatar (UBN), drive 1 hour east to the Gachuurt Valley. Festival shuttles from Ulaanbaatar centre on the opening day. Camping included with the ticket.