Bird up, my Gs. Winter is coming (not that it matters to us equatorial residents) and you know what that means — celebrating the year’s end with the many singers/bands/DJs/posses dropping by Singapore in the next couple of months.
Me, I can’t pull myself together to dedicate full articles for each of the many, many live music events that’ll be happening across the nation soon. And since I’m also the office’s designated music curator (well I did appear on BBC World News in a segment about Justin Bieber), I’ve assigned myself to educate all y’all about the gigs that should be on your radar. Feel free to randomly drop the names of these events in passing conversations — it’ll make you look “Hip”, “Cool”, “In The Know”, and to a certain extent, “Poncey”.
So! Check out the extensive list below, and ping us if we’ve missed out any major concerts we might not be aware of. Click on the sub-heads for more details.
Starker Music Carnival 2017 (Nov 4)
What is it: A music festival at Tanjong Pagar Centre’s Urban Park with Taiwanese superstar A-Lin as the headlining act. She’ll be having quite a roster of openings acts featuring prominent local acts like electro-pop singer/producer Jasmine Sokko, synthpop sensations Disco Hue… and various Mandopop singers.
Go if you are: A fan of A-Lin, or Mandopop in general. Honestly, why is Jasmine Sokko and Disco Hue even in the lineup?
Dia de Muertos Singapore (Nov 4)
What is it: Now in its third year running, Southeast Asia’s biggest and most authentic (or so the PR team says) celebration of the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition returns for another tequila-fuelled party. There’ll be a Frida Kahlo altar, a Mariachi performance, Mexican DJs on deck, and, of course, Mexican cuisine.
Go if you are: Mexican. This event was painstakingly organized for YOU.
Mosaic Music Series (Nov 7-14)
What is it: Esplanade’s beloved Mosaic Music Festival is no more (sad!), but in its stead: Mosaic Music Series. The lineup Esplanade chose remains as varied and classy as ever, with the likes of Jazz outfit Sinne Eeg and the Jacob Christofferson Trio, Japanese experimental pop genius Shugo Tokumaru and Canadian indie-pop darling Feist.
Go if you are: Too old for Laneway Music Festival, too young for Old People Coachella.
Dr. Rubinstein (Nov 10)
What is it: Music collective and dance party organizers Interstellar is celebrating their second anniversary and everyone’s invited to get lit with Israeli techno wiz Dr Rubinstein. Where the party at? Heck knows, they’re only announcing it 24 hours before the party.
Go if you are: Into avant-garde electronic music and constantly talk about how you’re so getting into Berghain one day.
Ed Sheeran (Nov 11-12)
What is it: Do I really have to explain who this ginger is? Tickets are sold out anyway, unless you’re willing to splurge on scalped ones.
Go if you are: A fan of Ed Sheeran, or a begrudging non-fan who’s forced to accompany a friend/partner/family member to the show.
Masego (Nov 13)
Who is he: A young, super-talented saxophonist who fuses hip-hop beats and flow with the classy complexities of jazz in his music. Weird combo, but dang it’s smooth AF.
Go if you are: A fan of trap music, house beats, AND jazzy jazz.
Michael Bolton (Nov 15)
Who is he: The pop-rock ballad crooner of the ‘80s and ‘90s behind hits like “Missing You Now” and “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”. Today, he’s popularly known as a funny dad figure, starring in The Lonely Island’s “Jack Sparrow” and Netflix’s Valentine’s Day Special.
Go if you: Made mixtapes for a loved one (with proper cassettes) with his songs in it.
Jungle (Nov 17)
Who are they: A modern funk/soul collective straight outta London who surprised everyone with how good they are live back when they played in Laneway Fest Singapore 2015. You might’ve heard their hit single “Busy Earnin’” somehow, somewhere on TV.
Go if you: Ever wished that Arcade Fire were really, really into funk and soul.
It’s The Ship (Nov 17-20)
What is it: The complete opposite of an Islamic Cruise. Three whole days of utter debauchery and hedonism on the open sea with the likes of Krewella, Tigerlily and 88rising stars such as Higher Brothers and Keith Ape.
Go if you: Have enough money to afford a cabin on the party cruise, and relentless commitment to getting lit.
IMI Festival 2017 (Nov 18-19)
What is it: A music festival, but apparently a new type. Alongside the usual repertoire of DJs both local and international, and art installations, there’ll also be inspirational talks and innovative tech.
Go if you like: Attending house/rave parties in between TED Talks.
TOKiMONSTA (Nov 18)
Who is she: Electronic music producer Jennifer Lee, a veteran of the LA beat scene who’s done some tight tracks with Anderson Paak and Yuna, among many others. She recently had to slowly regain her ability to comprehend music after recovering from the rare, highly dangerous brain disease Moyamoya.
Go if you like: Dank, dank beats.
Totorro (Nov 21)
Who are they: Not to be confused with the iconic Studio Ghibli character, but it’s obvious they take influence from the Miyazaki film. The French instrumental math-rock outfit are just bloody good fun live.
Go if you like: Dank math-rock. It’s a niche genre.
Pond (Nov 23) Cancelled
Who are they: Affiliated with fellow Australian psych-rock Tame Impala, Pond is pretty much similar in tone. Trippy, majestic, dramatic, freewheelin’.
Go if you are: Like, totally psychedelic, dude.
Harry Styles (Nov 23)
Who is he: Oh, only the most popular member of Brit boy band One Direction. With the band on hiatus right now, Styles is striking out on his own with a solo project that’s more rock ‘n’ roll (the Queen influence is strong) than radio pop. He starred in the Chris Nolan flick Dunkirk too, so props for that.
Go if you are: A bonafide fangirl.
Hyukoh (Nov 24)
Who are they: Oh you thought South Korea is just all K-Pop? Nah, fam — there’s proper indie rock too (K-Indie? Kindie?). Hyukoh managed to do the impossible and clambered over top K-pop acts in the charts back in 2015 with their hit song “Comes and Goes”, and they’ve been flying high ever since.
Go if you are: A self-proclaimed Koreaphile who just found out that Korean music is more than just pretty girls and boys dancing and singing about to highly-polished pop.
Christopher Owens (Nov 25)
Who is he: The frontman and songwriter of now-defunct indie-rock outfit Girls. After departing the band, Owens set out solo and continued the lo-fi/surf/garage rock sound on his own, and is probably all the better for it. This show will be an intimate acoustic though.
Go if you: Remember the time when Chri55ybaby broke your heart at Laneway Fest Singapore 2012 as he sang a Whitney Houston cover.
MØ (Nov 26)
Who is she: Before you ask, it’s pronounced “Mooh”. The Danish electropop singer-songwriter has appeared in tracks with Avicii, DJ Snake, Major Lazer, Iggy Azalea and more, but she’s an accomplished, award-winning artist on her own.
Go if you: Want to hear her say “mø” in a proper Scandinavian tongue.
Benighted (Nov 28)
Who are they: A veteran deathgrind (death metal/grindcore, duh) band from France. Their eighth album Necrobreed came out earlier this year, and it is a blast.
Go if you are: Br00tal.
Alt-J (Nov 29)
Who are they: A hipster band with a hipster name (∆) with a legion of hipster fans. Their tunes are honestly pretty tight though, but as any hipster would say, I prefer their earlier records.
Go if you: Like the music art galleries and chic fashion stores play.
Super 0 x The Council (Dec 2)
What is it: The creative cats behind super lit soirées (dancing in an emptied out swimming pool was a superb highlight of 2015) are back for another pop-up party. This time, Super 0 is teaming up with boutique music agency The Council for a techno/house-fuelled night at Gillman Barracks with Ukrainian DJ Nastia, with the local likes of Julien Brochard and Cats on Crack.
Go if you like: Letting loose after appreciating the dramatic intricacies of Karen Black’s meaningfully arcane — yet certain — brushes of color in the contemporary abstraction of An Ordinary Poetry exhibition.
ZoukOut 2017 (Dec 8-9)
What is it: Do I even need to explain what is Asia’s biggest beach music festival that’s been going on every year at Sentosa, organized by the country’s most iconic nightclub and starring the likes of Marshmello, Flume, Robin Schulz, Rich Chigga and more this year?
Go if you: Like, oh my gawwd, just want to let loose.
The Saddest Landscape (Dec 9)
Who are they: Revered screamo outfit from Boston singing screaming urgent songs full of catharsis and emotive poetry.
Go if you: Like the sound of people yelling over loud guitar riffs and drum blasts.
Implore (Dec 10)
Who are they: A relatively new grindcore quartet whose new album Subjugate didn’t get that many good reviews. Still, it’s grindcore.
Go if you: Love getting crushed in the moshpit filled with sweaty dudes.
Machinedrum (Dec 13)
Who is he: American electronic producer Travis Stewart puts out music like his life depended on it. Aside from his own IDM/glitch hop project Machinedrum, he’s also part of other acclaimed electronic music outfits Sepalcure, Dream Continuum and Om Unit.
Go if you are: An intellectual raver.
Bee Gees Gold (Dec 15)
Who are they: Direct from Las Vegas, it’s the Bee Gees… tribute band.
Go if you: Love the Bee Gees, duh.
A Place to Bury Strangers (Dec 20)
Who are they: A noise-rock band that’s been known to put on the loudest concerts you’ve ever been to. Like, seriously, LOUD.
Go if you are: Into aural sadomasochism.
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