An Expat's Guide to the Live Music Scene in Ho Chi Minh City
Truth be told, it's hard to find information about the live music scene in Ho Chi Minh City online. I landed in Vietnam with a couple of gigs pre-booked but had no idea what the reality of working as a musician in Saigon would be, what the vibe is, what type of equipment venues have and what the average pay for musicians was in the city.
So this is what I'll break down in this article, all from my experience of course.
A City with Three Live Music Scenes
Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it's often called, is a massive city. It has the space and amenities to cater to everyone, at all price-points and musical styles. From what I've seen, there are three very distinct, and very separate music scenes, and they each have their own venues. So before I go into specifics, here's a breakdown of each of those scenes:
The Expat Musician Scene: Understanding Musician Pay Rates in Vietnam
I'm squarely in this scene. If you're reading this, you'll probably fall in this category as well. Musicians in this category come from around the globe, though there is a large majority of British, American, some Africans and fewer Australians, and some Europeans floating around. They perform in a myriad of styles, and they tend to niche down to their target audiences a lot. Like me when I play Latino-focused or American-focused shows.
There are what I consider to be two very distinct types of musicians in this scene:
- The Part-Time Performer: In a broad, and definitely non-offensive way, they are generally playing music for fun and/or personal expression. There are incredible bands and solo artists in this category, and one day I'll do a list of some of the coolest live music shows I've seen here, but that's an article for another day. Because they play for leisure, they often get paid about 500k VND per set rates, about 20 USD or 15 EUR. This is the rate I used to go by when I first arrived in Vietnam. If you play 2 hours, you'll generally get paid 1 million VND, which equates to about 40 USD or 30 EUR.
- The Career Musicians and Music Teachers: They earn a living through music, whether that be through teaching, or through performance, or as is most common among them, a mixture of both. They generally work with local Vietnamese agents who book corporate event shows and wedding gigs for them. I myself have a local agent who will occasionally find gigs that I could never find. These gigs' payouts range wildly, because each client has very different needs. My first-booked gig here in Vietnam was a corporate event at Landmark 81 where they paid 2.5 million VND per musician (it was a full-band of strangers) for 2 sets. This is closer to what I'm charging nowadays. More recently, I was paid 5 million VND to perform one song at a massive corporate event. I've heard numbers exceeding 25 million for some of the more sought after bands. And the good thing about Vietnam is that there is still a lot of room to carve out niches in the scene.
The Vietnamese Live Music Scene
While there is absolutely crossover between the Expat and purely local Vietnamese scenes, they often have different venues where they perform. Rarely do venues have a mix of Western and Vietnamese musicians in their roster, though it does definitely happen. Here the distinction happens between Vietnamese original bands, and Vietnamese working cover bands.
- The Vietnamese originals scene is the one that crosses over the most with the expat scene. There are lots of young, energetic and talented bands in Saigon, they are good at promoting themselves and are technically excellent. Their formats vary wildly, from duos and trios to giant full six-piece bands. I'll talk about some venues I know of that you can check them out at later. I don't really know what musician pay rates in Vietnam are for locals, but by the ads on Facebook, I think it's about 400k VND per 2 hour performance, it's not fair, but it's what I've seen around.
- Vietnamese working cover bands on the other hand are usually massive, with bands having six, seven, sometimes eight members. They usually have multiple singers, multiple guitarists or a keyboard player, some specialty players and a percussionist of some sort. Some of them even have a team of dancers that comes along at every show! These bands often work corporate gigs and weddings as well, at much cheaper rates than expats. Vietnamese performances are very focused on visuals, they put effort in to look good and generally have coordinating outfits. Their performance style is focused more on the music than on creating moments or interactions with the crowd. I'm not a fan, but that is just a matter of opinion.
The Filipino Live Music Scene
This is an interesting one because Filipinos hold a sizeable chunk of the music market in Saigon. Their English is good enough to perform and satisfy western-focused venues and they usually are paid similar rates to Vietnamese. You will arguably find some of the best musicians, and crucially, performers in the scene here.
It's almost common knowledge that Filipinos put on the best shows, so they are the guys who have residencies. They often play at specialty locations, where the venue requests a very specific style, such as Flamenco, or Metal and they play it accurately, perform well, and do it cheaply.
You'll find them playing in District 1 at the same location day in and day out, these are arguably the hardest working musicians in Saigon.
Online Resources to Find where Live Music is Happening
There are a few pages that you can follow that do a great job of listing the performances that are happening around the city, and events that feature bands of all types.
- If you are looking to tap into local booking networks, Noise Saigon is your absolute best starting point.
- Check out the No Cover show which happens predominantly at Mooney's Irish Pub in Bui Vien, District 1, but has also taken place in other locations, such as Blue Monkey in Thao Dien. This is an amazing show to catch local, up-and-coming Vietnamese acts, and expat artists alike.
- Check out the Live Music in Vietnam Facebook group, all musicians post their public performances there, and there's live music happening every day in Saigon, so you'll never be bored!
Best Spots for each of the music scenes
Whether you want to hear local Vietnamese classics, covers of Eric Clapton or high-energy, Metallica tributes, these are the places I go to for leisure and also my own performances:
Mooney's Irish Pub | Bui Vien, District 1
Arguably one of the best live music bars in District 1 and beyond for Expat originals, and covers. This place is the headquarters of the expat live music scene, with lots of regulars and walk-ins. If you're a musician who's worked in other places of the world, I recommend starting here. If I'm not myself performing somewhere else, this is where I go to watch live music, it's one of the most fun places here.
Mr Craft | District 7
This is one of those places that is great for catching shows of all three scenes. They have Filipino, Vietnamese, and Expat musicians, and they have live music all week long. I perform here at least twice a month. The food and drinks are great and it's pleasant at night as it's open and airy.
Yoko Cafe | District 3
This is one of the legendary spots in Ho Chi Minh City for live music. You'll find all sorts of performances here, from originals to tribute bands of all nationalities, also a great place to start going to Open Mics and getting in the scene. I've performed here a couple of times, the payout isn't amazing, but you'll meet lots of good musicians here.
Acoustic Bar | Thao Dien, District 2
For what I've heard are some of the best Filipino performances in Saigon, Acoustic Bar is the place to go. This is one of the best live music bars in Thao Dien. Musicians here play easy listening pop and pop-rock, such as Bruno Mars and Bon Jovi, and is one of those places that has music every day. Beware, it's expensive.
Blue Monkey | Thao Dien, District 2
While I'm not a fan of this place personally, it is undeniable that this venue is quickly becoming a staple of the Ho Chi Minh City music scene. Because the location is so new, they're trying out lots of ideas and seeing what sticks, so here you'll find some of the widest varieties of music out there. From Coldplay tribute bands like mine to full Death Metal shows of insanity, watch out for this one. If you're a new musician in the city, you'd easily get a gig.
Soon after this I'll write a guide on the travel rig adjustments musicians must make here to keep up with Ho Chi Minh City's unpredictable standards for backlines!
I keep an exhaustive Google Maps list of all the places to watch and perform live music in, if you're interested in gaining access, be sure to sign up!
