Sonic Bang: Thailand’s first international pop music festival
Thailand is hosting its first annual international pop music festival in Bangkok this August. “Sonic Bang” will be a one-day event featuring 30 artists from around the world performing diverse sets of music.
The event is being organised by Thailand’s leading concert promoter BEC-Tero. This year marks BEC-Tero’s 15th anniversary and the company wants to celebrate it in style. But this isn’t merely a vanity project. BEC-Tero hopes to make Sonic Bang into a major international festival that increasingly attracts tourists from around the world in the month of August, when much of the world takes a summer holiday.
The hope is also to promote Thai artists internationally. For instance, this year many Westerners might come to see Jason Mraz or the Pet Shop Boys, but they will leave knowing about Flure and Room 39, two Thai pop music acts that are big stars domestically but have yet to break out into the international music market.
BEC-Tero is anticipating a turnout of around 50,000 people for Sonic Bang. The event will be hosted in Bangkok’s Impact Arena, which features six stages and is air-conditioned. There will also be plenty of local beer at Sonic Bang, as many Thai breweries are hoping to take advantage of the event to boost their international brand recognition.
BEC-Tero is encouraging guests to wear wild and colorful outfits to Sonic Bang to enhance the festival atmosphere and help make the occasion memorable. There will also be unusual features like a day spa and a “silent disco,” where people in a club space are given headphones to listen to the music, instead of having the music playing over loud speakers. The intention is for this to be not simply another music festival, but a unique experience with enough flair and individual personality to generate buzz. But aside from all of these grand designs and expectations, the event planners need to focus on something much simpler – just make it a damn good time.
Sonic Bang runs from 10am to midnight on August 24 in Muang Thong Thani. Tickets cost Bt4,000 (Bt5,000 for VIP). Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com. For more details, visit www.SonicBang.net.
Thailand is hosting its first annual international pop music festival in Bangkok this August. “Sonic Bang” will be a one-day event featuring 30 artists from around the world performing diverse sets of music. The event is being organised by Thailand’s leading concert promoter BEC-Tero. This year marks BEC-Tero’s 15th anniversary and the company wants to celebrate it in style. But this isn’t merely a vanity project. BEC-Tero hopes to make Sonic Bang into a major international festival that increasingly attracts tourists from around the world in the month of August, when much of the world takes a summer holiday. The...
Thailand is hosting its first annual international pop music festival in Bangkok this August. “Sonic Bang” will be a one-day event featuring 30 artists from around the world performing diverse sets of music.
The event is being organised by Thailand’s leading concert promoter BEC-Tero. This year marks BEC-Tero’s 15th anniversary and the company wants to celebrate it in style. But this isn’t merely a vanity project. BEC-Tero hopes to make Sonic Bang into a major international festival that increasingly attracts tourists from around the world in the month of August, when much of the world takes a summer holiday.
The hope is also to promote Thai artists internationally. For instance, this year many Westerners might come to see Jason Mraz or the Pet Shop Boys, but they will leave knowing about Flure and Room 39, two Thai pop music acts that are big stars domestically but have yet to break out into the international music market.
BEC-Tero is anticipating a turnout of around 50,000 people for Sonic Bang. The event will be hosted in Bangkok’s Impact Arena, which features six stages and is air-conditioned. There will also be plenty of local beer at Sonic Bang, as many Thai breweries are hoping to take advantage of the event to boost their international brand recognition.
BEC-Tero is encouraging guests to wear wild and colorful outfits to Sonic Bang to enhance the festival atmosphere and help make the occasion memorable. There will also be unusual features like a day spa and a “silent disco,” where people in a club space are given headphones to listen to the music, instead of having the music playing over loud speakers. The intention is for this to be not simply another music festival, but a unique experience with enough flair and individual personality to generate buzz. But aside from all of these grand designs and expectations, the event planners need to focus on something much simpler – just make it a damn good time.
Sonic Bang runs from 10am to midnight on August 24 in Muang Thong Thani. Tickets cost Bt4,000 (Bt5,000 for VIP). Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com. For more details, visit www.SonicBang.net.
