Ready to rock: Nu-metal band 18+ will be one of Viet Nam's representatives at the coming ASEAN music festival. — Photo courtesy camavietnam.org

HA NOI (VNS)– Bands from Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines will take to the main stage for a full day of music at the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations music festival next weekend.

Entitled Artwork is Work, the event will be held from 2pm to 11pm on May 11 at the American Club, 19-21 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ha Noi, by the US Embassy in Ha Noi and CAMA Viet Nam.

Festival performers include garage rockers Blood Sugar Politik (Myanmar), traditional Thai funk act Molam International (Thailand), the post-rock algorithms of Pulso (Philippines), nu-metal band 18+ (Viet Nam) and genre-defying electronic sound artists MUON (Singapore).

Myanmar's Blood Sugar Politik has more than a decade of writing energetic music together. The band is an intoxicating blend of rock, punk, ska, and folk with lashings of energy and subtle undertones of the country's classic rock.

This will be the first time Pulso has played in Ha Noi. The band does melody and rhythm, matching patterns and overlaying acoustic harmonies into dreamy post-rock pieces.

Singapore's five-member band MUON is a musical collective, delving through electronic experimentation and beat-science. With four critically acclaimed albums available for download online, MUON have all the evidence of their creativity and talent they need.

Viet Nam has MinMetals to open the festival. The band are new on the capital's music scene but their mix of alternative rock, indie and disco did a lot to impress at rock festivals. Other representatives include 18+ band and DJ SLo-Lo.

Thailand introduces two representatives, DJ Maft Sai, who promises to take audiences on a journey through tough bass lines, heavy percussion and music designed to move any crowd from around the globe, and Molam International, the band blend Isan rhythms and dancing bodies as Thai traditional music.

Besides non-stop live music on the main stage, the festival will feature a creative arts market run by the Ha Noi Flea Market, a community group dedicated to creating a place for young designers, new fashion labels and handicraft makers to introduce, exhibit and sell their creative products. Their regular market events allow young Ha Noi creatives to reach potential customers and to share their enthusiasm for creativity, antiques, and vintage style.

On the occasion, a visual arts exhibition is curated by Ha Noi's Onion Cellar collective. Less than two years after its creation, this little collective run by a handful of passionate arts lovers has made a name for itself as one of the most original players in the Vietnamese cultural scene.

The Onion Cellar has contributed to the development of alternative and left-field arts in Viet Nam through live music performances and film screenings, and has amazed local cinephiles with official Viet Nam premieres of niche documentaries and concert films.

Attending the festival, visitors will also have a chance to enjoy cuisine of ASEAN countries.

As well as promoting pride in the cultural vibrancy of modern ASEAN nations, the festival is also intended to highlight the importance of intellectual property rights enforcement in the ASEAN countries.

Tickets for the event will be available on the door. For more details, visit CAMA's website and Facebook event.

The US Embassy has provided 1,000 free tickets at creator.zoho.com/pas.culture/form/57. — VNS