Beijing rock band Happy Avenue will give a performance Sunday night at Idutang.

    Founded in 1999, the band members are Wu Hongfei, Geng Fang, Li Weiyan, Zhou Qi and Tian Kun.

    Wu, Happy Avenue’s vocalist and leader, is a graduate of Tsinghua University, with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and a master’s degree in Chinese literature. She is China’s best-known female rock singer. Originally from Guangxi and a member of the Dong ethnic minority, Wu is also a magazine journalist and a novelist. Her lyrics range from lighthearted, absurdist vignettes to darker and more melancholy meditations on subjects such as death, alienation and longing.

    The group’s music is eclectic, and generally unclassifiable by genre, though occasionally somewhat reminiscent of such avant-garde groups as Talking Heads. Songs range from quirky, upbeat, and sardonic to somber and brooding, the latter style leading some reviewers to describe the group’s music as gothic. About the group, Wu said: “We never, ever let ‘common taste’ influence our music.”

    The group’s melodies are catchy, with Wu’s often pentatonic vocal melodies showing the influence of Chinese folk singing, leading the band to be described by some as a folk rock act. In some songs, Wu’s expansive melodies extend to the highest register of her voice in a manner reminiscent of opera, while others are rather lullaby-like. The group’s albums often utilize vocal overdubbing to create an angelic choral effect. In a few songs, Wu sings in a more unorthodox manner, using abrupt sliding tones, whispering, and even screaming, displaying a wide range of emotions.

    Its debut performance took place in 2000 at the Midi Modern Music Festival. Happy Avenue released its first CD, “A Fish in Xiao Long’s Room,” in 2004.

    Time: 8:30 p.m., Jan. 24

    Tickets: 60-80 yuan

    Venue: Idutang, South Area, OCT-LOFT, Nanshan District (南山区华侨城创意文化园南区一渡堂)

    Metro: Luobao Line, Qiaocheng East Station (侨城东站), Exit A(SD News)