PUBLISHED July 25th, 2025 07:17 am
If you’ve been scanning the city for things to do in Singapore that don’t involve another mall, another drink, or another algorithm, Somewhere Out There might just be the remedy you didn’t know you were craving.
Come 16 August, Fort Canning Park transforms into a lush playground of sound and spirit. A one-day music and arts festival that doesn’t just put acts on a stage, but carves out a space for connection, curiosity, and the kind of beauty that can’t be replicated on a screen. Produced by the experiential minds at Fabrik Asia (those behind Boiler Room Singapore and Jamie xx’s spellbinding set), Somewhere Out There marks a new chapter in Singapore’s cultural evolution.
A Sonic Journey from Bonobo to Balming Tiger
The headliner? Bonobo, GRAMMY-nominated, globally revered, and back on a Singapore stage for the first time since 2018. His sonic blend of electronica, ambient soul, and textured rhythms has always leaned into something deeper than the dancefloor. He sets the tone for a lineup that spans continents and cultures: Balming Tiger, the K-collective bending K-pop into art-pop; RIMON, a voice as smooth as it is defiant; and MXGPU, whose electronic performances feel more like 360° meditations than club sets.
Local fixtures like YAØ and DJ RAAJ (aka Joshua P) round out the Evermore Stage, bringing Singapore’s own sonic signatures into the mix. A reminder that the city’s music scene doesn’t need outside validation, just a stage with the right kind of intention.
Fort Canning Park Becomes a Creative Playground
The layout is deliberate. Three stages: Evermore, Roots, and Canopy, unfold across Fort Canning’s terraces like chapters in a novel.
The Roots Stage is for those who built the beat from the basement up. Here, homegrown collectives like Blackout Agency, GrooveTop, Last Saturdays, Soul Collective, and Ice Cream Sundays throw down with genre-bending sets that honour the city’s dancefloor lineage. These aren’t newcomers, they’re the crews who’ve spent years flipping shophouses, rooftops, and industrial edges into underground sanctuaries. This is their shout: raw, joyful, and unmistakably Singaporean.
Up at the Canopy Stage, the energy shifts. Co-curated with Wild Pearl Studio, this space trades volume for vibration. Think Slow Yoga Flow under rustling leaves, intuitive dance sessions led by Guesthouse, photography workshops by Colossal, and interactive art by HAFI. It’s where you stretch, reflect, and let the day move through you, not rush past.
Art, Food, and a Free Afterparty
At the centre stands the Evermore Tree, a glowing installation that morphs throughout the day, interpreted by artists like Erikartoon, mixed media duo Alysha and Tasha, fashion designer Putri Adif, and glitter conjuror Polina Korobova. Nearby, Maha Co Café by Yung Raja, Average Service, and Rasa Space keep bellies full and conversations flowing with bites that speak Singaporean. Inventive, unapologetic, and delicious.
And when dusk gives way to night, the party doesn’t end. It shifts to Rasa Space. The afterparty, open to all ticket holders, runs deep with DJ sets from Kunda (Behind The Green Door), Raja Rani, and Roshan of Saturday Selects, delivering grooves made for the after-hours.
A Festival With Heart and Intent
Somewhere Out There isn’t just another date on the calendar of things to do in Singapore. It’s a reminder that festivals can still mean something. That music can gather us without needing a gimmick. That art, when given air, can thrive. And that under a tree in Fort Canning, strangers can become a crowd, and maybe even a community.
Somewhere Out There takes place on Saturday, 16 August 2025, from 2pm to 10.30pm at Fort Canning Park. Tickets start at SGD98 and include complimentary entry to the exclusive afterparty at Rasa Space. For the full lineup, updates, and to grab your tickets, head to sotfestival.com.