The Korean hip-hop trio Epik High has been invited to join the lineup at the Sonic Bang 2013 international music festival in Bangkok, Thailand.

This year’s Sonic Bang festival, Thailand’s biggest music event, will showcase 30 international and local artists on six stages featuring big names such as Pet Shop Boys, Jason Mraz, Pitbull, Placebo, Owl City and many others. 

The members of Epik High ― Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz ― started out in the underground Korean hip-hop scene in 2003, during a time when hip-hop was still relatively under-represented in the country.

During its early years Epik High released two albums, both of which received less-than-stellar responses. Later in 2005 the group released its third album “Swan Songs,” which was initially intended to be the group’s final release.

However, the album launched the trio into the mainstream limelight and the boys have since released four more albums including the most recent “99” album late last year.

The Sonic Bang all-day music fest will be held at the Impact Muang Thong Thani complex on Aug. 24 and is expected to draw 50,000 concertgoers.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)