There might not be as many music festivals in South East Asia as there are in other areas of the world, but that is slowly changing. With the ever-growing popularity of electronic music, more and more festivals are popping up in this region. You might not come to South-East Asia for the music festivals, but if you’re planning a trip out here, maybe one of these could be worked into your itinerary
Also check out:
Top 10 Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festivals: South-East Asia
1. Wonderfruit Fstival
- When: Mid – December
- Where: Siam Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand
- Website: http://wonderfruitfestival.com/
- Why: Live. Love. Wonder. That’s the motto of this incredible 3-day camping music and arts festival held on the beautiful Pattaya Fields Siam Country Club. I normally tell people to avoid Pattaya as a city because it really is a horrific place, but this beautiful venue is 15 KM outside the city, and you’ll fall into festival mode. The camping area is decent and well equipped, the stages are amazing, and the line-up brings a little something for everyone. This is one of the best festivals you can attend in south-east Asia. Read my Wonderfruit Festival 2014 review for more information and pictures. I was lucky enough to attend the first year, and definitely have plans to make the journey back.
2. Quest Music Festival
- When: Early November
- Where: Ba Vi National Park, Vietnam
- Website: http://www.questfestival.net/
- Why: Quest is Hanoi’s weekend music, arts and camping festival. Tucked away in a beautiful national park, this venue provides the perfect atmosphere that a festival needs. Stunning Vietnam landscapes, great live-music and DJ sets, and the opportunity to meet incredible new people from all over the world. Don’t miss out. Quest Music Festival will be an experience you will never forget.
3. Neverland Manila
- When: Early October
- Where: Manila, Philippines
- Website: http://neverlandmanila.com/
- Why: Known as the “biggest EDM event in The Philippines”, this festival brings some of the biggest names in commercial house music. If you’re looking for a solid party, this one will not disappoint.
4. ZoukOut Music Festival
- When: Mid-December
- Where: Singapore
- Website: http://www.zoukout.com/
- Why: The people behind one of the biggest and well-known clubs in Asia, “Zouk”, have created it’s own music festival, and it’s been one of the more popular festivals out in South-East Asia. Located in Singapore, you’ll find the tickets, drinks, and accomodations a bit more expensive, but you can’t complain when they bring A-list talent, incredible stage production, and an overall amazing atmosphere.
Update: Zoukout will be heading to BORACAY in 2016! It’s already one of the best places to party in South-East Asia, so definitely worth a visit over for ZoukOut !
5. Road to Ultra – Bangkok & Bali
- When: June (Bangkok) — Septemer (Bali)
- Where: Potato Head Beach Club, Seminyak, Bali
- Website: http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/
- Why: Ultra Music Festival seems like they have one goal in mind — global domination. From Miami, Croatia, Korea, Japan, South Africa — it now looks like they have turned their eyes to South-East Asia, and have added locations in Bangok & Bali. Two cities known for having incredible nightlife. If you find yourself out in either of these cities, definitely try to get to one of the these parties.
6. It’s The Ship
- When: Late November
- Where: Singapore – Langkawi – Singapore
- Website: http://www.itstheship.com
- Why: IT’S THE SHIP is Asia’s Largest Festival on a cruise. Setting sail on the The Royal Caribbean International’s luxurious Mariner of the Seas– will play host to over 30 international and regional headlining acts. Sailing out of Singapore to Langkawi, Malaysia, this is guaranteed to be a voyage unlike any other.
7. Maya Music Festival
- When: Early March
- Where: Bangkok, Thailand
- Website: http://mayamusicfestival.com/
- Why: This new one-day music festival brings big name DJ’s to a massive venue in Bangkok. If you’re looking to hear some of the best electronic music while exploring the capitol city, than plan a trip to Thailand in March.
8. Shipsomnia
- When: Beginning of January
- Where: Singapore – Phuket – Langkawi – Singapore
- Website: http://www.shipsomnia.com/
- Why: A MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL MEETS HI SEAS MYTHICAL ADVENTURE. Unofficially nicknamed, “Tomorrowland At Sea”, Shipsomnia has gotten a lot of positive media attention. With the growth of music festivals at sea, like Holy Ship or It’s The Ship (#6), Shipsomnia looks like it could be the next big thing. Sailing from Singapore – Phuket round-trip, with a quick stop in Langkawi, this looks like a party that can’t be missed. This all-inclusive music festival is guaranteed to be one epic vacation.
*Not since 2016, but may return to Asia in 2018*
9. Big Mountain Music Festival
- When: Beginning of December
- Where: Khao Yai
- Website: http://www.bigmountainmusicfestival.com
- Why: One of the biggest festivals for the Thai music scene, this two day festival is filled with awesome stages, hundreds of live acts, and an incredible atmosphere. Dates for the upcoming festivals haven’t been announced, but they do have other events, so tune into their Facebook for more information.
10. Rainforest World Music Festival
- When: Mid August
- Where: Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia
- Website: http://rwmf.net/
- Why: Just reading the name of the festival, you can get a good understanding of what you are in for during this unique festival. Lots of acoustic instruments with a rainforest themed, this will definitely be unlike any festival you’ve ever attended. Borneo is a beautiful island, and this would be a great way to experience the culture while hearing some great music.
11. Songkran Water Festival
- When: Mid-April
- Where: All Over Thailand (Chiang Mai recommended)
- Website:
- Why: The Thai Lunar New Year is celebrated by 3 days of absolute madness country-wide. From personal experience, this was one of the highlight’s of my travels in south-east Asia. The belief is that “water” washes off all the sins of the previous year, and it’s a fresh start for the upcoming year. It’s a beautiful festival, but it’s also one crazy party. There are stages and music playing all over the place, and great clubs and nightlife to go out at night. The set-up is different every year, but make sure you experience this at least once in your life. Check out my Songkran 2015 video.
There’s actually an official music festival during Songkran. I wrote about it in my Top 10 Music Festivals in Thailand article! Check it out.
12. Full Moon Party
- When: Once a Month during the Full Moon. Dates found here.
- Where: Haad Rin, Koh Phangan, Thailand
- Website: http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/
- Why: Last but not least, no South-East Asia festival list is complete without experiencing at least one full moon party. Although recently it has gotten negative attention recently, it’s definitely a good night if you’re with the right people. Koh Phangan is one of the craziest party islands in South-East Asia, and there are ton of other parties to attend on the island as well.
*Bonus: BESTIVAL BALI
- When: September 30th – October 1, 2017
- Where: Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park, Bali
- Website: http://www.bestivalbali.com
- Why: There’s no better reason to visit the “Island of the Gods” then checking out this international edition of the famous Bestival! With a line-up including incredible acts like Alt-J, Rudimental, and Bag Raiders — it’s guaranteed to be two solid days of music in paradise!
While I couldn’t list all the music festivals in South-East Asia, this is a solid list of what I think to the best 12. All of these festivals bring some great live musicians and DJ’s, and will provide a great festival environment for you to dance until your tired, and meet some amazing people. Make sure you check out my other blog posts on music festivals.
25 Music Festivals in America To Experience Before You Die
30 Music Festivals in Europe to Experience Before You Die
30 Music Festivals in Australia To Experience Before You Die
Am I missing any great music festivals in South-East Asia? Let me know in the comments section!
Photo Sources: Wonderfruit, Quest, Neverland, ZoukOut, Ultra, It’s The Ship, Maya, Shipsomnia, Rainforest, Big Mountain
Festivals and travelling – what more could you want! Thanks for this, some of these look amazing :)
Those are two of my favorite things. : ) Glad you like them! I’m hoping to cross off a few in the upcoming months.
I’m in Australia right now, and have seriously contemplated flying back to Thailand just to attend! It’s an epic festival! Definitely go!
U don’t know Djakarta Warehouse Project ? hahaha this article not interesting bros…
Haha thanks for the kind words mate. I know about DWP, and will be posting about it soon actually, lol.
You’ve got to add Djakarta Warehouse Party in Jakarta!
Prob the best music fest I’ve been two. Been twice! <3 :)
Future Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur is also pretty amazing! (If they don't cancel the last day on you….) looks like they are rebranding and changing this one, but something to keep an eye on.
http://whereintheworldisnina.com/djakarta-warehouse-party-edm-fest-jakarta/
http://whereintheworldisnina.com/future-music-festival-2014-kl-photo-video-blog/
Yeah I added DWP in another post. The Top 10 EDM festivals in South-East Asia. I should just add it on this one as a bonus as well. ;).
And I was at FMFA in KL in 2014. But they’ve ended it completely. It got kicked out of KL because of all the drug deaths, and Singapore made them cancel it in 2015.
Oh it definitely is! I’m a music festival junkie, and it’s the best way to party, meet people, and have a cheeky dance!
I’ve been to a good amount of these, but still have quite a few to cross of the list! :-) I’ll make it to all of them one day!
We’re planning to visit our family and friends in the Philippines this September- October but will visit Thailand and Macau wihtin that period too. I hope I can experience this festival in Manila since we’ll be there for a month.
Enjoy David! I want to go back to the Philippines so bad, and hitting up a festival would definitely make it all better. I’m a huge festival junkie, lol. Cheers mate!
Thanks Robin! I’m a big fan of music festivals (obviously), and these are all great ones to experience.
I went to Envision in Costa Rica this past February. I would love to check out a similar festival in Southeast Asia between December and April. Any ideas???
I’m wondering if the Wonderfruit festival is similar to Envision?
I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds like something Id love to go to! Any music festival around the world I’m down to check out :-)
Yeah Songkran is amazing! You have to go sometime! And completely agree, I’m dying to go on a festival cruise. Hopefully sometime in the next year I can attend one!
DWP Jakarta!
Thanks for this! I just moved to Thailand and now have something to do next weekend! I’m coming for you Ultra!
Glad you are finding it useful! I myself have looked back at this list just to check dates and what’s going down. I wanna go to Quest soo bad, and also Its the Ship looks epic! Hope youre enjoying Thailand so far! I miss it so much!
Thanks Adam :-)
Recently I attended an event in Sarawak – Rainforest World Music Festival. The RWMF is an annual three-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, food stalls, and main-stage evening concerts. The festival has been awarded 25 of the best International Festivals by Songlines for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2015. It’s really a awesome event.
https://www.facebook.com/rwmf20years/
Yeah I almost went last year but couldn’t find cheap flights last-minute. It does look amazing. How’d you enjoy it man?
Dreamfield Bali more awesome bro
I’ve never been! I was so close last year, but my plans fell apart. I’m sure I’ll make it sometime though.
Hi Dave! great post!
I have something for you to add on your bucketlist: Air Festival.
It’s located in Gili Air, Lombok – Indonesia (little islands next to Bali, which they also offer roundtrip package from Bali by Boat!).
exotically magical!
Oh thanks made! I’ll take a look into it! cheers!
The shipsomnia doesnt seem to take place in asia this year :( it looks awesome! Any other tips for some techno festivals in thailand, cambodja or vietnam? :)
Ohh no!? That’s a bummer. Definitely check out Wonderfruit! I went and had the time of my life. Unfortuntely the festival scene in Asia is just getting started.
Don’t forget Good Vibes Music Festival in Malaysia (The Ranch Genting Highland).. This year (2018) on July…
I thought India was the only one that celebrates so many festivals. Good information