After the gloomy months of winter, April has come with summer music festivals as well as numerous other music events in Hanoi. Let’s take a look at some of those:

1. Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival:

Day 2: Fri 10 Apr 2015, 2 – 11 pm
Hanoi Creative City, 01 Luong Yen
–
Day 3: Sat 11 Apr 2015, 7 – 10.30 pm
Van Ho Exhibition Center, 02 Hoa Lu

For the past 8 years, Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival, initiated and organized by musician/composer/DJ Tri Minh, has brought to Vietnam numerous talented sound artists and DJs from across the globe and has become the most-anticipated music event in the capital every April.

In its 8th edition, the festival is bringing to Hanoi electronic musicians and artists from the US, Norway, Germany, France, Israel and Vietnam in 3 exciting consecutive nights. The Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival in 2014 was reported to have attracted thousands of audience and this is absolutely not-to-be-missed if you are in Hanoi during that time.

2. Mystery Quest Festival:

10 – 12 Apr 2015
Location: Mystery

Quest is a mini music festival combined with weekend outdoor activities and has been a mega popular among the expatriate community in Hanoi. In April, Quest is organizing a “mystery” party in which the participants will be taken to a secret camping site 90 minutes away from Hanoi by bus. There will be natural surroundings of trees and wildlife, live bands and DJs, food, arts, performance, workshops as well as many other camping and trekking activities. Tickets are ranging from 700,000 to 900,000 VND and have been sold out weeks before the actual event. Hanoi Grapevine will send a reporter to the fest and we will have a post-event report next week.

3. Jazz Music with The Drops:

Sat 18 Apr 2015, 8 pm
L’Espace

In the following weekend after the festivals, excitement continues with the jazz trio hailing from France. Tickets are on sales at L’Espace.

4. Femme Beat DJ School by Embassy of Sweden:

18 and 19 Apr 2014
Hanoi Rock City

For all Vietnamese women interested in music and in building a network of female professionals in Hanoi, apply NOW for the Femme Beat DJ School by Embassy of Sweden. You don’t need to have any prior knowledge of DJ-ing, you only need to be driven to learn and to help building the network. You will learn from Swedish Female DJ Lina Thomsgård and have the opportunity to DJ along with established DJ’s before a live audience.

Send your application to camilla.bjelkas@gov.se before 10 14 April. Write: ‘Application to DJ- course’ in the subject line. Eight participants will be picked from the applications.

5. Vietnam – Japan Charity Choir and Concert – Beethoven Symphony No. 9:

Sat 11 Apr 2015, 4 – 7 pm
Hanoi Opera House

The program includes choir and concert performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 with Japanese conductor Kitahara Yukio, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) together with Vietnamese and Japanese soloists and chorus.

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (also known as “the Choral”), is Ludwig van Beethoven’s final complete symphony. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best-known works in classical music. Among critics, it is almost universally considered Beethoven’s greatest work, and many consider it one of the greatest pieces of western music. (Wikipedia)

6. Norway Concert 2015:

17 and 18 Apr 2015, 8 pm
Hanoi Opera House

The program plays Sergej Prokofiev’s Symphony no 1, Felix Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin and Edvard Grieg’s Songs for vocals and orchestra conducted by Norwegian conductor Thomas Rimul.

Even if you are into some good oldschool Rock’n’Roll April has something to offer…

7. The Electric Yard Dogs in April:

10, 16, 24 and 26 Apr 2015
Various locations in Hanoi

In various incarnations The Electric Yard Dogs have been performing in Hanoi for over five years. Original members Jez Hartley and Simon ‘Otis’ Redington, who hail from the ‘70s London Punk Rock era, have now been joined by two rockers from Le Havre Ricardo Canu on drums and Claude Van Damm on bass.

Their music is a highly danceable mix of fast rock, rhythm and swing, a style reminiscent of Dr Feelgood, the Texas Bar Room Blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds with a touch of Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed.

… or experimental music…

8. Electronic and Traditional Music Event: World of Sounds:

Thu 23 Apr 2015, 8 pm
Hanoi Rock City

Discover the unexpected sounds from electronic music and “dan bau” – a vietnamese traditional musical instrument in experimental style! Special program has the presence of the leading experimental musicians in Hanoi including Vu Nhat Tan, Dee.F, Nguyen Do Minh Quan, and Pham Thanh Tam!