5 Music Festivals in Southeast Asia Before 2014 Ends
PUBLISHED September 18th, 2014 05:16 pm | UPDATED January 19th, 2016 03:36 pm
Let’s face it; music festivals in the region can’t beat the likes of Glastonbury or Coachella. But we can’t complain – with more than a handful of events happening in the less than 4 months left to 2014, our music festival circuit is definitely heating up. So here are our top 5 picks of music festivals in Southeast Asia for the last quarter of the year:
Retrofest
Those who grew up with music of the early 1990s, this one’s for you. Four of the most talented acts – including US R&B group Color Me Badd and hard rock-heavy metal band FireHouse – of that era will be converging in Sunway Lagoon Malaysia for the inaugural Retrofest Asia. Jamaican songstress Diana King will also be performing her reggae hits like Shy Guy, while Tevin Campbell will be serenading the crowd with his chart toppers such as Tell Me What You Want Me To Do and Alone With You.
Retrofest is happening 1 November 2014, 6pm, at Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia. For latest updates and tickets, see Facebook Page.
It’s The Ship
Another first-time festival on our list is a major undertaking by The Livescape Group (the same people behind Future Music Festival Asia). A 5-day, 4-night music festival aboard Royal Carribean cruise liner, Voyager of the Seas, guests will head to Langkawi from Singapore for an epic beach party. The stellar line-up so far crosses musical genres of EDM, trance, techno, rock, and hiphop, with international headliners like rapper Lil Jon, Scottish electronic band Chvrches, and nu disco DJ Aeroplane. Confirmed regional acts include Malaysia’s indie dance music duo Dangerdisko and Rave Republic from Singapore.
It’s The Ship is happening 21-25 November 2014 aboard The Royal Carribean’s Voyager of the Seas. For more updates on the lineup and tickets, see website.
Penang Island Jazz Festival
Back in its 11th year, the Penang Island Jazz Festival is an island wide affair with four different stages around the city. Repeat festival-goers will know that the main highlight at PIJF is the two-night ‘Jazz By The Beach’ Stage, where a mix of international and local acts like Carmen Souza, Laila Baili Trio, Jo Yeong Duk Trio, and JazzHats & Ray will be jazzing it up, but there’re also loads of fringe activities – think forum sessions, workshops, and after hours jazz jams – to keep you entertained throughout!
Penang Island Jazz Festival is happening 4-7 December 2014 at various locations in Penang, Malaysia. For more updates on the lineup and tickets, see website.
Urbanscapes
Malaysia’s biggest creative arts festival encompasses everything from art installations to stand-up comedy, and of course, music. So you might be disappointed that the actual festival is only one day this year, but hey, at least it’d be really cool – literally, since it’d be held in the cool environs of Resorts World Genting for the first time. The organizers have also promised an exciting month of satellite shows, events, and parties leading up to the festival date. In fact, if you really want to catch Chvrches but can’t make their Singapore concert or It’s The Ship, their Urbanscapes satellite show is happening KL on 19 November. Confirmed acts for the day itself include US indie rock band Local Natives and alternative rock band The Lemonheads.
Urbanscapes 2014 is happening 6 December 2014, 2pm-12am, at Horse Ranch, Resorts World Genting, Malaysia. For more updates on the lineup and tickets, see website.
ZoukOut
Beach party or music festival, there’s no denying that ZoukOut is one of the biggest – if not the biggest -music events in the region, however you label it. The first wave lineup features many acts that are well known in the dance music circuit but not commercially huge (yet), which will definitely move those ticket sales along, like Nicky Romero, Showtek, Above & Beyond, Steve Aoki, and ex Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello.
Pssst, if you love the line-up but rather party elsewhere, head over to neighbouring Jakarta for Djakarta Warehouse Project. Comparing the confirmed acts of both events so far (and it’s on the same exact same days as Zoukout), we betcha the final lineups will be very similar.
Zoukout is happening 12-13 December 2014 at Siloso Beach, Sentosa, Singapore. For more information and tickets, see website.
Top Image: Chvrches and Urbanscapes
