Tag: Live Music

Big Mountain Music Festival, Khao Yai

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The Glastonbury Festival of Thailand?

The Big Mountain Music Festival takes place in December every year at the Bonanza venue in Khao Yai, just a couple of hours drive outside of Bangkok. 

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Big Mountain Music Festival 5

As of now, the Big Mountain Music Festival is still only 5 years old, so it’s still a relatively new event. It’s particularly popular with under 30s and teens, and has less of a diversity of ages than other western music festivals. Also, as you can tell from the use of primarily Thai language on their website and in their promotions, the Big Mountain Music Festival is not overly famous among foreigners either.

The Big Mountain Music Festival is open to roughly 40,000 festival-goers with tickets going on sale around September time for 1500 baht. You’ll need to buy your tickets from one of the Thai Ticket Major offices – one of the easiest to reach and most central Thai Ticket Major shops in Bangkok is in Zen, Central World.

Music at BMMF

There are a total of roughly half a dozen stages scattered around the grounds of the Big Mountain Music Festival at Bonanza, all with an amazing Thai mountain backdrop. Most of the bands are Thai, however there are a couple of not-so-famous foreign bands too.

In the typical, creative Thai style, the Big Mountain Music Festival has plenty of loveable and quirky details throughout that make it a completely unique festival experience. The gates open at 3pm so you can witness the sun set over the awesome landscape and decorations too.

At Big Mountain Music Festival 5, the stages had different themes and characteristics, the most prominent stages being the Cow Stage, with a giant swinging cow head and crazy spinning eyes; the Sticky Rice Stage, with an oversized sticky rice basket for the DJs to perform from; the Sperm stage, with lots of floating sperms lining the tent; and – my personal favourite – the Ferris Wheel Stage, with dozens of neon, colourful ferris wheels spinning away behind the stage.

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One awesome bonus, was that you could ride the ferris wheels for a behind the scenes view of the stage for just 40 baht. Watching the BMMF Superband playing while the crowd bounced around pumping their fists during sunset was well worth the money!

As for the atmosphere at the Big Mountain Music Festival, it’s much more mellow and well behaved than your standard music festivals. Looking around, there were never many other people drinking alcohol – despite the multitude of Chang beer tents scattered around the place – and many people seemed to opt to sit down at many of the stages. It has quite a contrastingly pleasant atmosphere, however if you prefer a little more excitement, just make sure to head to the main stage. There were plenty of drunken and excitable festival goers to dance around with when I visited, it was  awesome!

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Dress warm!

One word of advice if you’re heading to the Big Mountain Music Festival: Bring a hoodie or a jacket, it’s seriously cold!!! Just be prepared that, even if it is hot everywhere else in Thailand, BMMF is located in the mountains and the temperatures drop massively once the sun sets. Most of the Thais use it as a good excuse to wear their woolley hats, scarves and jackets to the Big Mountain Music Festival.

Where to stay

The Big Mountain Music Festival lasts 2 days – you can either stay two nights in a nearby hotel or you can camp. For campers, there are two major areas in Bonanza for tents: external and internal. If you’re planning on staying out and watching music until late then it’s a good idea to sleep inside the grounds, if you actually want some sleep then you might want to camp outside instead. You can either hire a ready-pitched tent or bring you own tent.

  • If camping outside, for a 3x3m pitch for your own tent it costs 450 baht. For an already-pitched 2 person tent, it costs 900 baht. You can check in the day before the festival starts and head to the pre party if camping externally.
  • Alternatively, if camping internally, it costs 1200 baht to rent an already-pitched tent. You can only check in on the day of the festival rather than the night before if camping inside. You also need to bring your own sleeping bag (highly recommended). You can book tents via Thai Ticket Major when buying your Big Mountain Music Festival tickets.
  • All of the local hotels are located quite a few kilometres away from Bonanza. However, this isn’t a problem as there are plenty of motorcycle taxis kicking around outside the festival grounds during all hours. The earlier you book the better, as hotels book up very quickly in the run up to Big Mountain Music Festival. I stayed in a hotel called Eco Valley Lodge – this was a really nice hotel located about 10km away. It may be worth getting hotel staff to write directions in Thai for you to give to the drivers though.

Getting around

If staying in a hotel in Khao Yai, hotel staff should be able to arrange a songtaew for you to get to the festival. Depending on how far away your hotel is, this will cost a few hundred baht. Getting back from the festival, there won’t be any songtaews so you’ll have no choice but to take a motorcycle taxi. They’re not too cheap, you’ll likely be charged between 200 and 400 baht per person.

How to get to Khao Yai

You can get a minivan from around 3200 baht from Bangkok to Khao Yai, hotels can arrange this. Alternatively, you can catch the shuttle bus from Bangkok to Big Mountain Festival on the Saturday morning and back on the Monday morning. Of course this may be subject to change in upcoming festivals, but prices generally cost around 550 baht each way. If there’s a group of you travelling together, it may be worth hiring your own minivan – Oriental Escape have minivans for hire for 3500 baht from Bangkok to Khao Yai.

 

Live Music In Bangkok

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bangkok ska punk rock metal music

After living in Thailand for a while, you might discover that live music in Bangkok is slightly lacking in variety. There’s plenty of Thai pop music and mediocre cover bands to see, but it takes a little extra effort to search out other live music genres in Bangkok. Don’t get me wrong, a bit of chilled out Thai pop music can be quite nice, but sometimes you just want to mix it up a bit with other varieties of live music.

Here are a couple of the best live music venues I’ve found in Bangkok – I’ve tried to cover a range of different music genres for different tastes.

Best Live Music In Bangkok

1: The Rock Pub – Rock tunes and alternative music

You can find some really good live bands at the Rock Pub. Furnished in the style of a rock-style Castle, this Bangkok venue has some great resident bands such as the Green Day cover band St Jimmy. The best bands that play at the Rock Pub seem to be the most under-appreciated in Bangkok though, and it’s the not-so-rockin’ bands that seem to draw in the bigger Thai crowds. Sometimes I wonder if the pumped up crowds headbanging to some of the soppy so-called rock bands are actually taking the piss or not. The pub is still definitely worth a visit for fans of punk, grunge and heavy metal… most of the time anyway.

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2 The Saxophone Pub – Laid-back jazz

The casual Saxophone Pub is a highly popular live music jazz pub frequented by both expats and Thai locals of all ages. This buzzing live music venue is nearly always busy, with lively atmosphere. The Saxophone Pub tends to play primarily energetic swing jazz and blues, and has a cozy, traditional pub atmosphere – a casual pub to simply enjoy good music.

3 The Iron Fairies – Jazz wine bar

Another jazz bar in Bangkok, the Iron Fairies is a less casual and more dressed up alternative to the Saxophone Pub. It’s a little more expensive compared to the Saxophone Pub and has a more quirky, unique atmosphere. Again, you’ll find cover bands of swing jazz playing at the Iron Fairies on an interesting stage which is separated on it’s own floor; singers energetically perform from the gothic-industrial spiral staircase that connects it to the bar floor. If you’d prefer a jazz bar with a younger crowd and more sophisticated ‘wine bar’-edge, then check out the Iron Fairies live music venue in Bangkok.

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4 The Raintree – Authentic Thai folk music

The Raintree is a lesser-known Bangkok live music venue, popular with Thai locals of all ages. If you are keen to listen to some authentic Thai folk and country music then this is the place to go. The Raintree Pub has a rustic atmosphere reflective of its country style, complete with buffalo horns and driftwood furnishings. Not to mention that it has cheap beer on tap…

5 Tawandeng German Brewery – Popular Thai pop performances

Tawandeng is another lesser-known Bangkok live music venue, highly popular with both local Thais and expats in the know. In fact, despite it’s huge size, Tawandeng Brewery is so popular that you often need to book ahead for a table. With a massive stage and gigantic seating area, this music venue seems to be a place for special nights out and celebrations. A visit to Tawandeng Brewery provides an authentic insight into modern Thai entertainment of cabaret style shows, magic acts and pop performances.

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6 The Overtone – Live Indie music for the younger crowd

Apparently the Overtone has recently been renamed to Mello Yello and has taken on a main jazz theme since my last visit. However whenever I have been to watch live music in the past, the Overtone has mainly played live popular acoustic Indie music and modern spins on classic hit cover songs. The venue is situated along the RCA, a popular nightlife road among young Thais and students, so the bar is ideal for those looking for a younger atmosphere. It may be worth checking out the Mello Yello Facebook page to see exactly what bands are playing, as I think they cover a wide range of live music genres.

 

Tawandang German Brewery Thai Bar Bangkok

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Bangkok’s Tawandang German Brewery can only be described as a lively cabaret-come-bar and restaurant with a laid back yet energetic ambience. The authentically Thai, modern bar provides an accurate glimpse into mainstream Bangkok nightlife. Popular with both Thai locals and the odd Bangkok expat, Tawandang is the perfect venue for celebrating, partying or simply admiring the dynamic, live performances.  

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The venue

Tawandang Brewery prides itself on four things: Great entertainment, great food, great beer and a friendly atmosphere. Being popular is an understatement –  Tawandang Brewery is a huge success in Bangkok and, despite it’s large, spacious interior, it get’s very busy and packed very quickly.

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The venue consists of a large, central seating area with the best views of the main stage – the in-demand seating here get’s booked up as much as a month in advance. Then, you have seating along the sides and at the back of the venue. The back area of the Tawandang venue provides bar-like seating which surrounds an industrial looking brewing tank; although this section has perhaps the worst view of the stage, there are big screens that you can watch the action on.

Tawandang German Brewery Menu

The Tawandang Brewery brews it’s own German beers on site: Dunkel beer, Weizen beer and Lager beer. You can order beer either by the glass or as a typically Thai beer tower, very reasonably priced and delicious; they even allow you to taste the beers before you order! How sophisticated is that, mind?

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As for the food, Tawandang serves up a selection of both European (mainly German) and local Thai dishes. It’s signature dish is the German style Pork Knuckles with mashed potatoes which are highly reputed among it’s customers. The Tom Yam Goong, Steamed Seabass and German Sausages also go down particularly well with one of their cold, locally brewed beers too.

Entertainment at Tawandang Bangkok

By far the biggest focus of the Bangkok Tawandang Brewery, is the live entertainment. Ranging from traditional Thai performance, pop singers, jazz bands and hip hop dancers, to comedy acts, magicians and exciting stunts, Tawandang has something for everyone. There are a huge number of acts performing throughout the night – great value for money considering the absence of entry fees.

tawandang1 There are slightly less acts performing during the week as there are during the weekend, however this may be better if you’re after a more subdued atmosphere to enjoy with your partner. If you’d prefer an energetic party atmosphere with a larger group of people, the weekend is the best time to go – just remember to book ahead to be safe.

How to get to Tawandang Brewery Bangkok

The closest train station to Tawandang Brewery is BTS Chong Nonsi or Lumpini MRT, however you will still need to take a taxi from either of these stations. You can either ask the driver to take you to Tawandang near Rama 3 Soi 69, or print out the website map here.

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Saxophone Pub Bangkok

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The Saxophone is a pub/ restaurant specialising in good music and good food, located at the Victory Monument, Phayathai, Bangkok. If you love live music, especially jazz & blues, Saxophone pub is a definite must on your to-do list in Bangkok. The relaxed and chilled out atmosphere combined with the cozy surroundings and awesome music, make thie Saxophone Pub just perfect to hang loose with a good beer or two in Bangkok. Last I visited, there was a cover band playing old school jazz tunes such as covers of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to the more constrasting music of Amy Whinehouse, Adele and Wild Cherry.

The style of the Saxophone pub itself is very reminiscent of an old, dimly lit, English style pub, with an array of kooky decorations and paintings filling any possible remaining bareness, and breathing yet more character into the spririted and cheery Bangkok bar. You can purchase cooked food at the Saxophone Pub, typically costing from around 120 baht to 300 baht for a meal. The pub menu offers a selection of dishes including Thai food, curries, salads, steaks, sandwiches and even german cuisine.

The portions are not always so generous but nonetheless the food is very delicious. Soft drinks are expensive, costing from 90 baht upwards, making it more worthwhile to order alcohol instead. Beers cost from 120 baht and cocktails from 180 baht – the selection of cocktails is huge.

How to get to get to the Saxophone Pub in Bangkok

Take the BTS to the Victory Monument station and then head towards the Victory Monument itself from there. Just before you get to the large roundabout you will notice a small road veering to the right from the main road. With it’s many lights and smoking patrons hanging in the doorway outside, the Saxophone Pub stands out enough to notice it from the main road if you look for it anyway.