[SINGAPORE] This December, the hills of Fort Canning Park will come alive with the glow of stage lights and the thrum of bass, as Singapore throws itself another big birthday party before the year ends.
Sing60 Music Festival will be a two-night, multi-stage tribute to 60 years of Singapore music – a bold, intergenerational mix of pioneers and fresh faces, chart-toppers and indie icons, cult bands and underground beatmakers. Think Benjamin Kheng and Mavis Hee, Charlie Lim and Ann Hussein, Shabir and Iman Fandi, A Vacant Affair and The Great Spy Experiment, Aldrin and EJ Missy – and many more.
It promises equal parts nostalgia, current hits and next-gen audacity – a nation’s 60-year mixtape, remixed for a new century. Organised by The Rice Company Limited and produced by Global Cultural Alliance, with support from The Business Times and The Straits Times, this multi-genre spectacle will sprawl across Fort Canning Park on Dec 6 and 7, with different performances each day.
The biggest stage is Homegrown Icons, a greatest-hits compilation of popular performers that includes current stars Kheng and Lim, enduring crooners Corrinne May and Imran Ajmain, 1990s Mandopop queen Hee, and emerging gems Shye, lullaboy and shazza, among many others. They’ll perform their original numbers as well as one-night-only tributes to the local musicians who shaped them. There will also be a special ChildAid segment sponsored by UOB, featuring Amni Musfirah and the ChildAid alumni.
Meanwhile, the separate Bandwagon Sessions offers the kind of line-up indie diehards dream about: A Vacant Affair roaring back from hiatus, Caracal in full post-hardcore glory, Pleasantry returning after an 11-year pause, The Great Spy Experiment emerging from the shadows – as well as newer bands such as Motifs and Carpet Golf. Expect surprise collaborations, the sort of genre collisions that seemed improbable until now.
For the third and final stage, Fort Canning’s Battlebox – an actual WWII bunker – will be transformed into Bunker B2B, a subterranean secret party for the beat-obsessed. Here, veteran DJs will be paired with young guns, pushing and pulling each other into sonic territories neither might have explored alone. Expect Aldrin sparring with Loyboy, EJ Missy spinning shoulder-to-shoulder with Taz Angullia, Ollie Des tag-teaming with HBN, and more.
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Chen Huifen, editor of The Business Times, says: “Local songs have long deserved a bigger stage, and there’s no better moment than SG60 to shine the spotlight on our music scene. Sing60 presents a rare, intergenerational snapshot of local music – past, present and future – and The Business Times is proud to support this important tribute to the nation’s soundscape.”
Sing60 isn’t just about music. With ticket sales opening on 11 Aug, every ticket sold will fund a seat for a child or youth from a less privileged background. Adding to this pay-it-forward ethos, the new Gift-A-Guitar initiative will put brand-new acoustic guitars into the hands of young players, pairing them with music lessons. It will be funded in part by the auction of 60 iconic guitars – including one belonging to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and others from notable personalities.
There will also be a Festival Village curated by the style-conscious team at F ZINE, serving up everything from artisanal bites to covetable streetwear, each piece and plate quietly carrying “Made in Singapore” credentials.
Tickets are reasonably priced: a 1-Day pass for S$40 (with early bird discounts) or the full 2-Day immersion for S$60. From Sep 1, they can also be redeemed through the Culture Pass, making it easier than ever to get in.
Sing60 is led by festival director Nicholas Tee of GCA, with creative directors Jeremiah Choy and Lim Sek. The Homegrown Icons showcase is helmed by Orangedot Productions and Music & Movement with Kenn C as music director. The Bandwagon Sessions is curated by music media platform Bandwagon, while Bunker B2B is co-curated by Life In Arpeggio’s Kevin Ho and creative producer Esther Goh.
With almost a hundred talents gathered in one place, Sing60 is less a festival than a once-in-a-generation block party for the nation – a reminder that the sounds of home are every bit as worthy of celebration as those on any global stage.
Sing60 will be held on Dec 6 and 7 at Fort Canning Park, with different performers each day. Tickets at S$40 for a 1-Day Pass and S$60 for a 2-Day Pass from Sistic.
