Hanoi (VNA) – Thousands of diehard music fans braved drizzling rain and cold to watch the star-studded performances at the 2019 Monsoon Music Festival, one of Vietnam’s biggest music events that kicked off in Hanoi on November 1 evening.
The festival’s fourth edition, themed “333 Minutes of Music: For You – By You,” is running through November 3 at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in downtown Hanoi, featuring celebrated artists from Vietnam and foreign countries, such as the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Lebanon, Thailand, Israel, Indonesia, Ireland and the United States.
The opening night stunned fans with performances from emerging Vietnamese singer and songwriter Vu as well as international artists, including electronic rock band ADOY from the RoK, Danish/Lebanese singer Mariyah and Irish rock band Kodaline.
“We want to bring a brand new and high quality music experience to music lovers, said the festival’s director, music producer Quoc Trung. The audience will be main actors who actively immerse themselves in the festive music atmosphere and spread the joy and excitement, he said.
“I hope Monsoon would be a place where the audience open up to something new and even exotic,” he added.
Lead singer and guitarist Steve Garrigan of Irish rock band Kodaline. (Photo: Organisers)
At the opening night, spotlight was on Kodaline from Dublin, Ireland who took to the stage two of their hits – “All I Want” and “High Hopes” – among others.
Founded in 2012, the alternative rock band features lead singer and guitarist Steve Garrigan, guitarist and keyboard Mark Prendergast, drummer Vincent May and bassist Jason Boland.
They reach immediate success with their first EP All I Want which has clocked up over 46 million views on Youtube. Their 2013 debut album Perfect World established them as a highly emotional rock band.
The follow-up, 2015’s Coming Up For Air, gave them their second Irish number one, with constant tours confirming their status as a growing force around the world.
Thousands diehard music fans brave drizzling rain and cold to enjoy the 2019 Monsoon Music Festival in Hanoi to the last minute. (Photo: Organisers)
Vu, who has been dubbed by Billboard magazine as the “Prince of Vietnamese Indie Music”, started gaining attention on Soundcloud at the end of 2016 for several hits such as “Dong Kiem Em” (Looking for You), “Chuyen Nhung Nguoi Yeu Xa” (Stories of Long-Distance Relationship), and “Mua Mua Ngau Nam Canh” (Besides You in the Rain).
His hit “La Lung” (Strange) has earned 67 million views on his Youtube channel.
In 2016, Vu won an award at the 2016 WeChoice Awards for Best Underground Artist. In 2017, tickets for his two-night concert “Xin Phep (Duoc) Co Don” (Please Let Me Be Lonely) sold out within a few hours.
Vietnamese singer Vu performs at the 2019 Monsoon Music Festival in Hanoi. (Photo: Organisers)
Last night, Vu performed together with Skylines Beyond Our Reach – one of the most prominent indie music groups in Vietnam.
ADOY is an electronic rock band from Seoul, formed in 2016. In May 2017, the band released its first EP album which was inspired by the band’s own memories of youth, ‘CATNIP.’ It received positive reviews from the Korean media, earning them a nomination for best modern rock song from the 2018 Korean Music Awards, and also topping the Korean indie CD sales chart twice.
Electronic rock band from Seoul, ADOY, performs at the 2019 Monsoon Music Festival in Hanoi. (Photo: Organisers)
In June 2018, a year after their debut EP, ADOY released its second EP album, “LOVE.” After topping the Korean Apple Music electronic chart for both album and song (“Wonder”), the band is currently performing in numerous gigs and festivals worldwide.
Meanwhile, singer Mariyah enthralled the audience by her electrifying gypsy punk performances. Her music reflects an exciting mixture of world, punk, rap, reggae and electronic pop.
Danish/Lebanese singer Mariyah performs at the 2019 Monsoon Music Festival in Hanoi. (Photo: Organisers)
The second night‘s featured performers will include Thai singer-songwriter Phum Viphurit, Vietnam’s Lu.Tre.Chau and Xinh Xo, Indonesian band Lightcraft, and Israeli singer-songwriter and producer Totemo.
On November 3, the festival will feature performances by South Korean boy band Hyukoh, American musician and composer Robert Rich, and Vietnamese singers Vinh Khuat and Tien Tien.
Over four editions since its debut in 2013, the festival has received more than 200 artists from 20 countries and territories, and 125,000 attendees.
The event was nominated at the ‘Vietnamese Grammy’ Devotion Awards for four consecutive years and won the award for Music Show/Festival of the Year in 2015.
Previous editions of the festival have featured performances by Grammy-winning soul singer Joss Stone, best-selling string quartet Bond and the world-famous rock band Scorpions./.
