#23 Music is My Life
One of the most common topics that pops up during lunch or small talk is probably 'travel' . Especially in Singapore, which is about the size of Seoul and hot all year round, 'travel' seems to be an important agenda in the lives of both locals and expats.
To confess, I am a homebody and do not like to travel. Nevertheless, one of the reasons that makes me decide to travel is 'music' . Last year, I was able to see Hyuk Oh concert in Hong Kong with YBP, Jamie XX in Bali, and luckily, I was able to catch Jorja Smith's concert on the last day of my business trip to Seoul. Before that, I used to visit various music festivals held near Seoul.
In an era where short video stimuli are overloading, I like the vibes and energy felt among people who gather just to enjoy music. I like being able to immerse myself in an artist's performance that lasts over an hour, rather than a 10-second piece of music trending in reels. I like the time when no one cares if I dance strangely. I hope I can enjoy music with a conscious mind that can talk about 'why' I 'liked' it.
If the essence of 'travel' is escape from the routine and recharging, then this kind of high-quality immersion time is the most travel-like moment for me. This also matches what I consciously want to do this year. To borrow the words of the author in the prose collection <the Promise to Never Be Defeated>, which contains the life of a novelist, "This means that poetry is not written with fantasy and dreams, but with the whole body. It means that poetry is created when you see it vividly as if you are seeing it for the first time rather than seeing it out of habit, and when you listen closely rather than just letting it flow. ... So the saying that the body thinks is not wrong." I want to listen with all my senses, not just listening to music recommended by AI that flows out of the earphones that I stuffed into my ears without thinking.
So in this article, I'm going to introduce you to some music festivals that I would like to go to, selected with very personal criteria.
1) Lineup, rather than being popular, I like places that give local or new artists a chance. I think places that put together a lineup based on their own concept, rather than just considering ticket power, are more attractive.
2) Venue, I prefer things that can be enjoyed in nature rather than in the city. Sometimes when I look up at the sky and see only the sky colors that change with the time without any buildings blocking in the way, I feel that it is definitely an extraordinary moment. If you sell tickets at a slightly cheaper price for residents or have an open stage so that local people can enjoy it together, it would be a total plus.
01 'Primavera Sound'
Source: Catalan news
Source: Primavera Sound official website
This is a music festival held in Barcelona, Spain, every June, and is famous for curating various genres of music such as indie rock, electronic, pop, and techno. The lineup is organized by considering musicality and the influence that the artist has on the music scene rather than commerciality in each genre. So you can listen to pop music during the day and enjoy techno in the evening. The stage that first introduced me to Primavera Sound was Red Velvet's stage in 2023, and I started paying attention to it after seeing Korean K-pop artists perform at a festival held outside of Asia, thinking, 'How can a festival be open-minded like this?' Silica gel, a pride of Korean bands , also performed on stage last year. They also say that they serve as a platform to discover and introduce new artists through a separate program called Primavera Pro.Actually, I already bought the 5-day full festival ticket for Primavera Sound this year last year. And since the news of the sold-out event came out in January, 5 months before the show, I would have waited until next year if it had been a little later, and in reality, it may be a festival that only those who can accumulate several months’ worth of anticipation can go to.
Here are some more stages that helped me buy Primavera Sound tickets through YouTube.
Boiler room (2004)
DJ Ramon Sucesso | Boiler Room x Primavera Sound Barcelona x CUPRA
*They also collaborate with Boiler Room every year to create a DJ stage. In previous years, DJs from South America, including Brazil and Colombia, performed.
Tame Impala - Let it Happen (2022)
Let it Happen - Tame Impala (Nos Primavera Sound 2022)
This year, Charli XCX, who had a hit with her album <Brat> last year, will perform SWEAT with Troye Sivan, a show that has never been performed outside of North America. Also, Chappel Roan, who won the Best New Artist Award at the 25th Grammy and was remembered for her speech about the difficulties artists face and demanding the responsibility and support of labels, and Sabrina Capenter, who seems to have found a song that best fits her image with 'Espresso', will be the headliner. Personally, LCD soundsystem, floating points, nourished by time, and magdalena bay, who I often listen to, are also on the lineup, which helped me decide to buy them. I am half-expecting and half-worried about being able to hear Amelia Lens' intense techno and floating points' jazz and ambient electronic music on the same day, in the same place. I will write a review later.
02 'Sydforsolen'
Source: Seed for Solen official website
This festival is held every August in a park outside of Copenhagen, and is relatively a new festival that started in 2022. Still, last year, famous artists based in Europe like Fred Again.., Jorja Smith were the headliners, and the year before, Peggy Gou, Aphex Twin, and Bon Iver were there to perform, and it is a festival where you can also enjoy performances by new European-based artists covering genres from pop to jazz.
It's a small festival held in a city park like the Pitchfork Music Festival, but it feels like you're seeing artists that you have to see in the crowds at the Coachella. If you're curious about the vibe, check out this YouTube video below of a visitor who I saw with a motherly smile.
03 'organik'
Source: Organic Official Instagram
Source: minimal collective
This is an electronic music festival held every April in Ximen, a coastal area in northern Taiwan. It started in 2012 and has a history of over 10 years. It is an event that seeks harmony between nature and music. The difference from Syd for Solen is that the music genre it covers is focused on electronic music, but it also covers various subgenres such as deep techno, ambient, and house. You can meet DJs from various Asian countries in one place. Airhouse in Korea has been gaining popularity in recent years, but it is limited to domestic DJs and the lineup does not change much every year, so I am paying attention to festivals on a scale like Organik. However, there are not many live performance videos or reviews, so I have a a bit of remaining journey to buy tickets. It has held parties at Rasa Space in Singapore and at Seoul National University Power Plant in Korea, so it would be good to go to a party held in a nearby city first.
04 'Fuji rock festival (Fuji Rock Festival)'
Source: Fuji Rock Festival Official Instagram
Fuji Rock Festival is the largest outdoor music festival in Japan, held for three days every year in late July on a mountain adjacent to a ski resort in Niigata, near Tokyo. (This is far from Mt. Fuji. unlike the name.) With the theme of 'Coexistence of Nature and Music', you can enjoy various genres of music in the mountains. I came across this festival because Yves Tumor, based in Turin, Italy, performed in 2023, which is rare seeing him in Asia.
As the inclusion of Yves Tumor in its lineup suggests, the festival leans into rock, but doesn’t stop there. In truth, its sonic palette stretches far beyond—embracing pop, electronic, jazz, hip-hop, and more. It’s a rare stage where Japan’s rising local acts perform alongside globally revered artists, forming a lineup that defies easy categorization.
But music is only part of the story. “Nature” is a defining keyword here. Festivalgoers from Korea are often seen hauling tents and camping chairs across borders just to experience it properly. Many spend the entire weekend camping on-site, cooling off in streams between sets or hiking up disco ball-lit forest trails. Gondolas connect the farther stages—yes, actual gondolas—giving the event a surreal, alpine twist. It’s not uncommon to see entire families in attendance, spanning generations, all moving to the rhythm with their feet in the grass and their backs against the earth. How many festivals can claim that?
This year’s headliners—Fred Again.., VULFPECK, and Vampire Weekend—bring star power, but the real thrill for Korean fans might be seeing homegrown heroes like Hyukoh, Sunset Rollercoaster, Balming Tiger, and Silica Gel joining the bill. A festival like this doesn’t just host music—it cultivates a world. One you’ll want to return to again and again.