Sax N Art Jazz Club

Living up to its name, the place is a small jazz paradise in this bustling city. Mr. Tran Manh Tuan, also the owner of the club, is one of the greatest saxophone musicians that we pleasurably have here, in Saigon. There are many great performances every night. Come early to save you a spot and enjoy the atmosphere.

Price: 150.000 VND or more (including entrance fee and drink.)
Opening hours: 08:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Address: #28 Le Loi Boulevard, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Website: Sax n’ Art Facebook Page

Hard Rock Café

Talking about popularity, “Rock” is at the bottom 20% of words that are frequently used in this country. But worry not, this big guy “Hard Rock” is already there with us. To be honest, this chain is not the best but it is better than nothing. Good food, good music, and good drinks are what I’m sure you won’t miss whilst visiting this place.

Price: 100.000 VND or more.
Opening hours: 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Address: #39 Le Duan Street, District 1, Saigon. (Kumho Asiana Plaza)
Website: Hard Rock Cafe Facebook Page || Hard Rock Cafe Website

Acoustic Bar

Acoustic performance is a hot trend recently, isn’t it? (Or at least within my knowledge, it is quite trendy here. Just kidding! Don’t be fooled by this place’s name. It has more than just acoustic sets, such as rock n’ roll nights, or occasionally, jazz or blues.

Price: 60.000 VND to 160.000 VND
Opening hours: 07:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Address: #6E Ngo Thoi Nhiem, Ward 7, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 08 3930 2239
Website: Acoustic Bar Facebook Page

Mix and Paint Bar

Located right on the main street, this place is a must-check one for all the art admirers. Mix and Paint is a cultural venue bringing together different artists from graphic urban culture, pop culture and contemporary art. Live art performances and interesting workshops are held here frequently. If not, you can always come at any time in a day to enjoy the snacks and the place’s art gallery. You shouldn’t miss a chance to visit such a cool venue like Mix & Paint.

Address: #93 Xa Lo Ha Noi, Thao Dien Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 0120 363 3164
Website: Mix And Paint Facebook Page | Mix And Paint Website

Yoko Cafe

Yoko is an extraordinary venue with a mix of both evening screenings and excellent performances from local and foreign musicians. The only downside seems to appear when you are allergic to cigarettes as the place allows smoking inside. Other than that, I have nothing to say about this place but praises: warm, cozy, and good music.

Price: 60.000 VND – 150.000 VND
Opening hours: 07:00 AM – 08:00 PM
Address: #22 Nguyen Thi Dieu, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 0120 363 3164
Website:  Yoko Cafe Facebook Page

Seventeen Saloon

In an old style of western saloons, the place surely brings you stimulating memories. The whole bar is decorated with wooden features, where you will be met by cowboys and cowgirls. Moreover, they are among few good places left that offer rock music! If not, no worries. Seventeen Saloon offers the second stage with softer music. Let’s heat up our heart with music and liquor.

Price: 160.000 VND or more.
Opening hours: 05:00 PM – 3:00 AM
Address: #103 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 099 301 70 17
Website: 17 Saloon Facebook Page || 17 Saloon Website

Thi Bar

Feeling down but you are too lazy to wander too far off your hood? Check out this place. The bar is conveniently located inside the tourist downtown and constantly filled up with good music. This is a perfect location for friends to gather, for dancers to release their inner energy.

Price: 50.000 VND – 300.000 VND
Opening hours: 06:00 PM – 02:00 AM
Address: #224 De Tham, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 08 2210 2929
Website: Thi Bar Saigon

La Fenetre Soleil

La Fenetre Soleil is a hidden gem of this hectic city, whose morning camouflage is an amazing Indonesian restaurant. After 9:00 PM, the true essence of a nightclub arises. There are jazz nights, piano nights, jam sessions, poetic events, and much more outstanding live performances.

Price: 40.000 VND to 150.000 VND
Opening hours: 10:00 AM – 11:30 PM
Address: #44 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 08 3824 5994
Website: La Fenetre Soleil

Indika Saigon

Indika Saigon is one of the places that feel like home at your first step inside. The place itself is a masterpiece of architecture. Each corner conveys a different story to tell. There is a perfect harmony of decorative furniture inside and the small garden outside. Choose your lovely spot to enjoy the night with good music, decent drinks, and delicious dishes.

Price: 40.000 VND to 150.000 VND
Opening hours: 09:00 AM – 00:00 AM
Address: #43 Nguyen Van Giai, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 0165 658 1648
Website: Indika Saigon

The post The 9 Best Places with Live Music in Saigon appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

Quan ho in Bac Ninh province, Vietnamese folk music originated around the 13th century, was recognized in 2009 as a part of UNESCO’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is traditionally associated with Bac Ninh’s spring festivals that follow the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet). Up on the Lim hill-top stays a temple with a worship of Hieu Trung Hau, the founder of Quan Ho folk singing. Every 13th of lunar January, Northern Vietnamese people coincidentally go to the area to join one of the biggest spring festivals in the region of the Gulf of Tonkin, the Lim Festival.

Lim Festival falls between 12th and 14th of Lunar Calendar in the District of Tien Du, Bac Ninh province. Tonkin is the land with a huge fame of folk tales, legends and antique vestiges. Consequently, Bac Ninh, a city in the middle of Tonkin, has gained a big reputation for traditional festivals.

The date of 13th would be chosen as the main time over the process of the festival. Started with a big parade, the ritual attracts thousands of people in classic traditional costumes, with shining colors forming up a long line reaching nearly a kilometer. The biggest important activity out of all the rituals would be singing an honor song. All the village elders and notables need to assemble in front of the temple to make an offer to the deity, one of which is a ritual of sing Quan Ho. During this time, male and female singers are queuing in two paralleled lines, face to face and giving out grateful and admirable music lines to offer the inventor of Quan Ho folk singing.

The second section of the festival would be all about competitions. Those belong to traditional games such as martial arts, wrestling, chess, cooking and teetering. However, the most exciting part would be singing Quan Ho in the river. A boat of red lacquer trimmed with gold leaves the bank with two groups of singers. Group of female called “liền chị” is standing in the middle of the boat wearing a type of traditional costumes called “tứ thân”, while the group of men will be sitting at the front and back of the boat. The night of 12th would be the competition among Quan Ho villages and several tents from the teams are set up on the ground of a big yard on the hill of Lim.

With all these spectacular activities and traditional festivals, Bac Ninh has become the capital city of festivals in the land of Tonkin.

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr:
Photo Album Flickr
(Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Oanh Nguyen
Photos by Chi Nguyen

The post Lim Festival in Bac Ninh Province | Travel Photoblog appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

Hao Nam Street is a traditional yet popular street for musical instruments. The street also gathers all the top-notch musicians and excellent students majoring in music since there is an outstanding school named Vietnam National Academy of Music (Học Viện Âm Nhạc Quốc Gia Việt Nam) located in between the music shops.

There are hundreds of big and small music stores along the side streets and back alleys as well as hidden corners. Thousands of guitars are lining the walls of the stores.

In Hao Nam musical street, it is not hard to catch sight of colorful-haired rockers, artistic music players, high school and college music students picking up their instruments with parents and friends. The shop clerks engage in lively discussions and happily demonstrate a variety of accessories and instruments, from guitar, violin, cello, piano, flute to Vietnam’s traditional instruments such as bamboo flute, bau luthier (đàn bầu), 16-string-zither (đàn tranh), Vietnamese violin (đàn nhị) or even t’rung (a Ba Na ethical instrument from Tay Nguyen).

What is interesting in this local musical instrument shopping street – Hao Nam is that the customers can bargain the price. It is even considered as rules here. “Never accept the price in the first place” is what we often tell each other. If you plan to buy some instruments in Hao Nam, you should be very careful checking out them to even the smallest details and prices. It is best to go with locals though.

Photos taken by Tu Vu

The post You are a Music Enthusiast? Visit this Lively Hub of Music Stores now! appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

Take a walk here, and you will be astounded by the number of instruments here, varied from common worldwide ones such as guitar, bass, ukulele to the traditional ones of Vietnam, as well as other few countries.

Take a walk here, and you will have more in your experience. Feel the sound of traditional music playing in the so-called ‘central heart corner’ of a modern city.

Click on the photos below for full size:

Some facts you should know:

Most Vietnamese traditional instruments, as well as most of the instruments showcased on Nguyễn Thiện Thuật St. are string instruments.

Many Vietnamese instruments are ‘decorated’ with traditional drawings and pictorial-sounded names, such as ‘moon’.

Similar to Nguyen Thien Thuat St. in HCMC, Hao Nam St. in Ha Noi is a street full of instruments too, with a diversity of Northern Vietnamese traditional music.

The post The musical street in Saigon appeared first on Maze Vietnam.