Taipei's dawn on New Year's Day was enveloped by rock beats as local band Mayday ushered in 2008 by putting on an overnight show.

The five-piece group kept its annual New Year's tradition alive by inundating fans with five and a half hours of live music, beginning at 2am on Tuesday.

Their energetic presence, embroidered by such guest singers as Rene Liu and Lee-Hom Wang, kept the 1,300 or so fans in a delirious state until the last minute of the show.

When the show came to an end in the morning, the five band members led the audience in appreciating the New Year's first light.

Mayday has taken part in New Year's countdown celebrations for five years now. In 2007, they stayed up and signed autographs for 15,000 fans.