Thailand winter music festivals scene

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Thailand winter music festivals scene 
The Nation: 13 Dec 2009
Blowing in the wind
By Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul THE NATION


Despite rising costs and lower audience numbers, Thailand's festival organisers hold their heads high this winter

Music festivals are not a modern day phenomenon. History tells us that the religious rites and ceremonies held over several days by the ancient Egyptians circa 4000 BC contained musical elements while, in the Middle Ages, competitive music festivals were hosted by workers' guilds in several European countries.

The famed Newport Jazz festival on Rhode Island has been going since the early 1950s and most people will have heard of New York State's famed Woodstock festival in 1969, which drew some 500,000 people, as well as the England's annual event Glastonbury, launched in 1971 and still going strong.

Thailand didn't get into the music fest act until early this century, kicking off with Pattaya Music Festival in 2002 and following up later the same year with the Hua Hin Jazz Festival. In 2006, the first Honda Winter Fest was held in Bonanza Khao Yai and the mountains in and around Nakhon Ratchasima have been echoing with the sound of music every cool season since.

"The Winter Fest is a lesson we learned well," says Suppawann "Nook" Suchinda, general manager of Young Dee, which recently organised the Dee-Boyd Pop Fest at Suwan Farm in Pak Chong. "I'm a major fan and went to the festival's first and third editions."

Winter music festivals are traditionally held in the last two months of the year in various parts of the country. Last month, music fans were encouraged to travel to Pak Chong for the Muak Lek Cowboy Festival and Honda Winter Fest, while this month, they've already had the option of Pak Chong again for "Dee Boyd Pop Fest".


Next weekend, they can dance to reggae in Pattaya at the "Smiley Fest" and head north to Pai, Mae Hong Son over Christmas for romance at "Chang In Love".

"In terms of business, it's important to realise that artists and musicians rely on shows and not for on album sales for their income. As far as marketing goes, sponsors benefit greatly from the music festivals, as it brings them closer to audiences. And the crowd gets much more out of the experience than they would from sitting through a concert in a stuffy hall. It's allows them to relax in pleasant surroundings with their friends over a weekend before the year draws to an end. That's why these two months are packed with festivals," she says.

"Show business is growing bigger and bigger these days and audiences are far more willing to get out of Bangkok to go to music festivals," says Yuthana "Ted" Boon-orm, managing director of Gayray, organiser of the upcoming Big Mountain music festival, which takes place in February. "The festival allows them to be together over a couple of days, to go for walks, to eat and drink and even do some shopping."

For the organisers, setting up a festival is much more than getting the musicians in place. Today's events require a suitable location, accommodation, food and beverages on tap, easy access for travellers, a parking lot and adequate facilities, especially when it comes to toilets.

For the recent Dee-Boyd Pop Festival, that meant transforming Suwan Farm's vast cornfields into a proper campsite. Come February, Bonanza's land will be redesigned as a small town to host "Big Mountain".

"Wherever we pick as a festival venue must be within two hours by car from Bangkok's suburbs, which means Pattaya, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi and Khao Yai. I find Khao Yai particularly appropriate. It has a lot of locations and a pleasant climate," says Ted.

"The venue has to match Dee and Boyd's target groups, who are mainly Bangkokians," agrees Nook, who toured more than 40 destinations before settling on Suwan Farm. "I picked the farm because it was surrounded by mountains, had sufficient space for a parking lot and because campers could enjoy both the sunrise and the sunset."

The main negative feedback from the first Winter Festival concerned the toilet facilities, which were regarded as too few and dirty. Organisers and the venues took the comments to heart and improvements have been made incrementally ever since. Both Ted and Nook say that the number is less important as the level of cleanliness and overall hygiene.

"People except to wait a little and no one minds queuing for five minutes or so. We now have a cleaner for every four mobile toilets," says Nook.

Most festival goers are Bangkok residents and being city folk, it's not just clean toilets they expect but also instant access by mobile phone to their friends and family. That can pose a problem as the corn and cows making use of the remote fields the rest of the year have little need for a mobile signal.

Nook made contact with the networks of AIS, True and Dtac to keep her audience happy during the Pop Fest. Ted isn't expecting problems as Big Mountain has Nokia as a major sponsor.

"We also had ATMs and shower booths after checking what punters wanted on our web board," says Nook.

But all this costs and budgets for outdoor shows like "Pop Fest" and "Big Mountain" often top Bt50 million, inclusive of location fees, the stage production, artist remuneration and promotion.

"That's three times what we'd be paying at Impact Arena," says Nook.

And with tickets selling for between Bt1,000 and Bt1,500, it would take an impossibly large crowd to break even.

"Pop Fest" received some logistical support from the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Nakhon Ratchasima, which helped with promotion and by providing information on accommodation and tourist attractions.

"We also try and generate income in the area by employing and training local people. The hotels near the festival site were fully booked so we are helping the economy," says Nook.

But that pleasant state of affairs may not continue into the winter of 2010.

"I believe that the number of music festivals will be reduced next year because of the losses the promoters have been forced to absorb this season. That's partly the result of heavy investment and partly because of the global economic downtown," she says.

"Whether we like it or not, the total number of the festival-goers is lower than last year and they are spending less. We have no choice but to be more careful about what we do in 2010."