Festival Recap: Highlights of Singapore’s Garden Beats 2020

The sun was shining, the clear skies were never more blue – it was the perfect day to be outdoors. CoVid-19 may be causing fear and panic global wide, as well as event cancellations, but we were glad that the organisers behind Garden Beats kept calm and carried on despite everything that happened. The annual affair that celebrates the love for music, arts and conscious living saw thousands of revellers gathering on 29 February (last Saturday) to embrace the many joys a festival brings .

While international artists such as Gioli & Assia, Blondish and Sabrina Claudio have cancelled their tours in Asia, our local heroes brought on their A-game. Brendon P and KFC delivered a genre-defying mix that gave us a quick tour in the global sounds while Ice Cream Sundays kept the daytime dancing going strong. Later, Orio maintained the energy with groovy beats and positivity.

The upbeat, all-around solid performance by Foals left us with goosebumps while Crussen’s eclectic selections were complimented with his harmonica beats. Viken Arman closed the main stage with his dark, trippy world electronic sounds. Mixing music and art, Pier Alessio Rizzardi’s LightinWaves was one to remember. It evoked surreal perceptions and combined with the lights, the park came to live at night.

Zen Garden was impressive with an afternoon session packed with yoga and meditation, conscious talks like “Climate Change is Real” and “Change Makers in Singapore”. Fernandez Gary, Jens Ringefelt and Daniel Sonic Rojas put on a powerful show involving hand pans and embodied dance movement while Ellen Bryant shares her personal experiences through the combination of spoken word and soulful sounds.

More importantly, we were spoilt for choice when it come to food (which is never a bad thing). From roasted chicken tacos to Impossible burger, Garden Beats certainly made it easy for vegans. With a Conscious Bar running all day, it was nice to have a mocktail (other than the usual Coca Cola and tonic water) for folks avoiding alcohol. The food was tasty enough we went for the second round. In addition, with the ban of single-use of plastic, it was nice to see everyone abiding rules. Some brought their cups, others rented the metal cups for S$12.

But the festival wouldn’t have happened without the great organisation of the team. The experience was seamless, everyone was friendly and we had a beautiful view of Fort Canning from above. It was nice to see pockets of spaces being utilised. While the virus might have killed lots of spirits, we were glad to see the force was strong with this one. Looking forward to Garden Beats 2021!