In just a few months from the end of 2024 until now, Vietnamese rock has made a strong impression with a series of new albums and spectacular performances by generations of singers and rock bands.
After many years of stagnation, Vietnamese rock has recently brought many positive signals to fans. Instead of following the beaten path of previous rock bands, rock artists and bands are trying to make this music genre fresher, at the same time incorporating many elements of Vietnamese cultural identity into music and performance style.
The band Bức Tường, with a pioneering position with nearly 30 years of operation, although not continuous but also experienced fluctuations, in October 2024, they turned the space of Ho Guom Theater (Hanoi) into a jubilant rock stage of music and emotions with the concert "May Rain". 29 works associated with the band's name were completely re-arranged, along with some unique combinations with traditional instruments such as the erhu, stone guitar or symphony orchestra. Besides familiar songs such as "Kham pha", "De men", "Men say", "Duong den ngay vinh quang", "Tieng goi", ...
The Wall also introduced a number of new compositions. 2024 marks the spectacular return of this veteran band with many major rock shows such as Rock The Global (May 1), Rock Fest (July 7), Brigdefest (November 2), Hanoi Rock (November 23) and the Ho Do - HOZO International Music Festival in Ho Chi Minh City 2024 (December 15), along with two international tours in Japan and India. According to the band leader, musician Tran Tuan Hung, The Wall plans to hold a large-scale live show to celebrate its 30th anniversary at the end of 2025, followed by a European tour in the summer.
Also making headlines this past year with many shows and their third album, “Heritage,” the band, which was founded in 2007, is Pentacle shows the ability to constantly innovate and innovate. Although the main singer Do Hoang Hiep is absent, the album is still attractive with guests such as singer Phuong Thanh, Nguyen Duc Cuong and many new young elements, some members are only 18 years old.
With the idea of bringing folk colors into rock music, Ngu Cung renewed the famous work "Co Doi Thuong Ngan", exploiting the images and sounds of natural heritages and intangible cultural heritages in many regions of the country in the songs "Nhây Hỏa Cầu Mưa", "Sơn Đoòng", "Man Lê 1979"...
After nearly 20 years of musical activities, the compositions combining the breath of folk culture are an attractive unique feature, helping Ngu Cung conquer the audience. Some other early artists and rock bands in the Vietnamese rock scene who have stopped performing for a long time will also return to the stage in 2024 in group or solo shows. These include the bands Rosewood, Microwave, Hai Bot - leader of the band Tiny Monster, Viet James of the band Thuy Tieu Do...
Although rock in Vietnam is no longer as strong a trend as it was in the 2000-2010 period, it has never broken down and still has a generation of artists to inherit it. Thanks to the explosion of many art programs and music festivals in the past year, many young rock bands and rock singers have also stepped out and shined on the big stage. The strengths of Gen Z artists are their ability to quickly access and learn from world music, know how to exploit the stories of young audiences and have the awareness to bring national spirit into their works. The development and popularity of technology and digital platforms have also contributed to helping young rock spread faster and more widely.
We can name some potential names of Vietnamese rock music that have received the love of the public recently such as Chillies, Monocycle, Mun Go, Giay Gap, The Flob, Raditori, 7Uppercuts, Meow Lac, The Cassette... Female singer Tho Trauma separated from the band Metanoia to work independently, just debuted with the MV "Sand Castle", and the band Nhung Dua Tre, after many years of performing live on stages across the capital, also released their first album "Con duong".
At the end of 2024, at the 2024 National Music Awards Ceremony of the Vietnam Musicians Association, the rock band The Flop (Ho Chi Minh City) with the MV "Nhat bai thien dia" was honored to receive the Golden Sol Award, surpassing 31 other senior candidates. The Flop also deserves to be an impressive name of Vietnamese rock in 2024 with the successful organization of the tour "Troi da dung hoa - Van vat sinh gio" in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
Stirring up the stage and attracting tens of thousands of audiences at the recent Rock Fest, Hanoi Rock or HOZO Festival, Vietnamese rock has had a very wide range of interaction with many other music genres. The "cool" and edgy qualities of this genre when combined with trendy, easy-to-listen music can become an interesting, catchy and accessible musical experience for the general audience.
At the Hanoi Rock show (Hanoi), classic songs such as “Day and Night March” (musician Phan Huynh Dieu), “Spring Melody” (Cao Viet Bach), “Hanoi Belief and Hope” (Phan Nhan) or “Red River Improvisation” (Tran Tien)… were played, surprising and exciting the audience when they were mixed with rock and performed by People's Artist Thanh Lam and singer Dong Hung.
At the HOZO festival (Ho Chi Minh City), Chau Van, Quan Ho, and Northwest folk songs… blended with the spirit of rock to bring the southern audience a passionate and memorable musical feast. The creativity and openness of the artists are necessary and have proven effective, because if Vietnamese rock wants to develop, it cannot continue to rely on the glory of the past.
With the return of veteran names and the strong breakthrough of the new generation, it is expected that Vietnamese rock will have more high-quality products, breathing new life into the music market in 2025.
Source
Comment (0)