Renown international music events such as St. Jerome's Laneway Festival and Ultra Music Festival have branched out into Singapore and are well-received by sound-loving revellers here, but these live gigs are an annual affair. So if you are yearning for an encore concert, here's a list of music festivals that'll keep your musical soul nourished throughout the year.
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Singapore (January)
Affectionately known as 'Laneway', the Singapore edition of the outdoor Australian festival boasts a stellar international and regional music line-up that rarely disappoints. Numbers don't lie—the festival has peaked at 13,000 people for the single-day annual event. Sober still? You might rub shoulders with your favourite artist(s) as some will party among the music mob after performing their sets.
Past acts include: St. Vincent, James Blake, Flume, Grimes, Anderson .Paak
Garden Beats (March)
Dubbed as 'The Electronic Picnic Festival', this multi-sensory party approach fun with a sense of sustainability. Eco-loving folks will be heartened to know that conscious brands and initiatives are tagged to the festival's programmes—from yoga to the curated art market.
Past acts include: Youngr, Pomo, Ava Asante, Autograf, Andhim
Singapore International Jazz Festival (April)
A unique genre that tests a musician's freestyle and improvisation abilities, Jazz has been hailed as one of America's original art forms. Lovers of blues, soul, and swing have swayed their bods to the big band sounds at Singapore International Jazz Festival (SingJazz). So surrender and allow the melodic song interpretations from veteran legends and contemporary funks move you till 4am in the morning.
Past acts include: Lauryn Hill, Jamie Cullum, Esperanza Spalding, Tim De Cotta, Corinne Bailey Rae
Ultra Singapore (June)
Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is more than just bobbing to EDM's (Electronic Dance Music) blips and beeps. An outdoor electronic music festival with roots in Miami, Florida, UMF is named after the 1997 Depeche Mode album, Ultra. The two-day weekend event has tranced Singapore since 2016 and we are the third country, after Ultra Miami and Ultra Korea, to host an Ultra Live stage that features regional and local acts (like MYRNE!).
Past acts include: Axwell & Ingrosso, deadmau5, Alesso, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Steve Angello
Baybeats (July)
Presented by the creatives at local performing arts centre, Esplanade—Theatres on the Bay, Baybeats is an alternative music festival which highlights promising Singapore and international acts. This gathering of up-and-coming musicians provides a platform for homegrown talents to showcase their work through the Baybeats Budding Band initiative. Bubbling regional acts aren't ignored too; Baybeats welcome overseas applications who are keen on performing live to an indie-loving crowd.
Past acts include: Obedient Wives Club, Subsonic Eye, Amateur Takes Control, sub:shaman, Disco Hue
Music Matters Asia (September)
In association with Apple Music, Music Matters Live (MML) is a mega music festival that coincides with All That Matters conference, which covers the latest global topics and trends in the music, sports, online entertainment, gaming and marketing industries. A stage and gateway for emerging local and international artists looking to break into Asia, participating musicians will also get to attend the Music Matters Academy, where industry speakers impart their knowledge through workshops and forums.
Past acts include: Tabitha Nauser, Falling Feathers, Sam Rui, Dru Chen, M1LDL1FE
Neon Lights (November)
True to its name, this relatively-new indie music and arts festival proved to be a hit with festival goers for its line-up that consists of critic faves Blood Orange and Neon Indian (of course). Need a break from the sensational sonics? Hit up the art booths and exercise your creative hand to create a curio with a spur of spontaneity. Neon Lights took a hiatus in 2017 and is expected to return in the 4th quarter of 2018.
Past acts include: Sigur Ros, Damien Rice, Lucy Rose, Shura, Yuna
Mosaic Music Series (November)
Don't expect pure pop to dominate this high-fidelity music performance series by the Esplanade group. Featuring acclaimed music vanguards from genres like jazz, electronic, indie and rock, the successor of the decade-long Mosaic Music Festival seeks to deepen the audience's understanding and appreciation of both musicians and their works through a line-up of ticketed and free programmes.
Past acts include: Feist, Grizzly Bear, Rachel Yamagata, Joss Stone, Patrick Wolf
ZoukOut (December)
You ain't an EDM enthusiast if you're clueless about Zoukout. As one of Asia's longest-running beachfront dance music festival, the two-day dusk-till-dawn party is brought to you by the third-ranked nightclub in the world, Zouk. Top-notch stage productions coupled with some of the world’s biggest names in dance music? You're guaranteed to end the year with a bang for sure. And it's not too late prep an ideal beach bod for the seaside swizzle at Siloso Beach Sentosa now.
Past acts include: Zedd, R3HAB, Tiësto, Armin Van Buuren, Hardwell
Japan Music Festival (Periodical)
J-pop and J-rock are having a resurgence of interest in recent years, thanks to Perfume, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and the legendary Arashi. Managed by the organisers behind Anime Festival Asia and J-Live Asia, Japan Music Festival consists of solo and themed concerts scattered throughout the year. Save yourself the time and cash from the flight to Nippon—you can experience Japanese behemoth adult contemporary acts who ruled the music waves right here.
Past and future acts include: Radwimps, Do As Infinity, LiSA, Shiena Nishizawa
