AXEAN Festival springs into its first physical music showcase! Be a part of elevating the best music in the ASEAN region and launching artists on a global stage.
Credit: @colossalphotos/Instagram
Formerly known as ASEAN Music Showcase Festival, the newly rebranded AXEAN Festival has crossed borders and finally reached our shores! This year, it’ll be situated over at Goodman Arts Centre on 28 and 29 October.
For the uninitiated, AXEAN Festival was first an intraregional virtual music showcase festival in 2020. Its inaugural edition was organised by five participating countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines) and presented via a live video streaming of pre-recorded performances in September 2020, during the peak of COVID-19, as an initiative to help regional artists stay connected with their fanbase and gain international fans.
Credit: @1syraq/Instagram
Last year, it launched into the “real world” to become an internationally recognised platform that brings regional artists to the global music stage.
“Despite our different languages and customs, Southeast Asia is rich with historical heritage and shared cultures and identities. Colloquially, the term ‘”ASEAN” (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is often used interchangeably with “Southeast Asia” due to reasons including the spoken language of its people, signifying the sense of unity we have as a region,” explains festival founder Piyapong ‘Py’ Muenprasertdee.
He further adds: “After three successful editions, we want to make a statement of our commitment to elevate Southeast Asian music onto the world stage by renaming our event ‘AXEAN Festival’, with an ‘X’ symbolising our core values of collaboration and crossing borders, whether physical, lingual or cultural, while also inviting artists and fans from all corners of the world to celebrate and share their music with us!”
AXEAN Festival music performances
This first wave of artists performing this year is headlined by Shye, Reality Club, The Itchyworms, KIKI, and Oh Flamingo!. The event will also host performances from Singaporean pop artist Jean Seizure, Thai R&B artist Flower.far, Indonesian singer-songwriter TANAYU, and many more exciting artists.
And excitingly so, this iteration’s performers include Malaysia’s cultural icons Masdo and Zamaera, renowned lyrical storyteller Taba Chake from India, feel-good alt-rock band Helsinki Lambda Club from Japan, and many more.
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Alongside live music performances by renowned and up-and-coming acts from 10 different countries across Southeast Asia and the rest of the world, the festival is partnering with a wide variety of craft beer, food, and art vendors from Southeast Asia to give festival-goers a fully immersive experience, fostering a spirit of community and collaboration.
Apart from Singapore-based organisations, France will be the first European country invited to present an artist – Sūn Jùn, a young French emerging musician, composer, and producer.
The Embassy of France will also run a dedicated activation space to promote French music industry initiatives in Asia, where festival goers will be invited to discover French sounds throughout the broadcasting of What the France music playlists and to meet and exchange with French music experts and companies based in Asia.
AXEAN Festival’s curated Beer Village
Hungry or parched while immersing yourself in tunes? AXEAN Festival is teaming up with Beer Village, hosting a range of craft beer and food vendors from Singapore and across the region to satisfy the appetites of festival-goers and artists alike.
This year’s edition of the festival places extra emphasis on Asia’s indelible food culture with exclusive forward-thinking dishes inspired by flavours from across the region and a diverse range of beverages.
Craft beer aficionados and newcomers can unite in a vibrant celebration of the finest brews from across Southeast Asia in this immersive experience that brings together the best of craft beer, gastronomy, and entertainment.
Craft Beer Vendors include Brewlander (Singapore), Burbrit Brewery (Myanmar), Paperkite (Malaysia), Off Day Beer Company (Singapore), Kultural (Indonesia), The 1925 Brewing Co. (Singapore), Lion Brewery Co (Singapore), and Samata Brewing (Thailand). Meanwhile, you can expect delicious food from Meatsmith SG, The Oyster Cart, and Blue Smoke.
Better yet, you can pre-order two beers and get 20% off all F&B purchases in the festival when you get your tickets here.
Get your tickets here to pre-order 2 beers, as well as 20% off all F&B purchases in the festival!
GOFY Art Showcase
Presented by GOFY, an independent Singapore-grown creative community that celebrates artists from the Southeast Asian region, the arts showcase at AXEAN Festival will feature a curation of works from their exhibition For Art’s Sake 2023 which brings art into everyday commercial spaces, melding the discovery of art with people’s daily rituals.
Audiences will enjoy the fusion of arts and music through a unique showcase that celebrates the talent of regional urban artists. The artworks will capture the spirit of Southeast Asia’s youth, with narratives reflecting the pulse of the present moment.
Credit: @colossalphotos/Instagram
Speaking more on the festival and conceptualisation, Py adds, “ASEAN is not just the name of an organization, but of countries, peoples, cultures, and ways of life that are different but yet the same. As the sayings go: “Food is the way to the heart”, and “Art is food for the soul”, we want to top it off with “Music brings people together” as our goal is to invite everyone to come discover new sights, new sounds, and new flavours with new people at AXEAN Festival – where ‘X’ for us symbolizes collaborations and crossing borders!”
The festival is now operating on a pay-cos-you-want system with a 250% tax deduction for donations over S$100 through its charity partner FOUNDATION MUSIC, in the hopes of making the festival accessible to as many people as possible.
Donations from the public allow the independent festival to continue its annual efforts to elevate the best music in the ASEAN region, accelerating the artists’ careers and launching them on a global stage.
Dates: 28 and 29 October 2023
Time: 3 to 10.30pm daily
Location: 90 Goodman Road, Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore 439053
Snag your tickets now at Peatix!
