Tully On Tully
Music Matters Live is back this month for its fourth edition, and it’s bigger and better than ever, with an additional night of bands and even more venues in the jam-packed line-up. Not convinced? Here are the numbers: more than 60 bands from 18 countries will perform over 170 shows at eight outlets in Clarke Quay, including Aquanova, Beer Market, Fern & Kiwi and China One (plus a few additional venues around town, such as Timbre @ The Substation, Switch and Barber Shop).
Ming Bridges
Continuing last year’s country showcases, which highlighted the best of various regions, even more will be on offer this year, with K-Pop Night Out, Canadian Black, The Aussie BBQ, Japan Night, Bravo! Taiwan and, of course, the Made in Singapore showcase. Also look out for a special Sounds Australia segment, featuring a Sound Gallery presenting stripped-down, acoustic works by Australian singer/songwriters – the first time the showcase will be featured in Asia, after performances at SXSW in the US and Canadian Music Week.
Sezairi Sezali
At the heart of it all is the central Fountain Stage at Clarke Quay, so lap up all the action there as bands hit the big stage to belt out catchy tunes. Expect to see names like longstanding Taiwanese hip hop guru MC HotDog, Korean electronic rock outfit Love X Stereo, blues maestro Ash Grunwald from Australia, Indonesian pop singer Afghan, folkrock group The StoneWolf Band from Portugal, Malaysian rockers Mad August and many more international acts on the roster from India, Canada, Japan and the Philippines. Plenty of local acts will be in the mix as well, such as Gentle Bones, Ming Bridges, Trick and the charming 2009 Singapore Idol winner, Sezairi Sezali.
And if you can’t make it for the gigs, don’t fret: a live stream of shows will be available on YouTube from 22-24 May.