Pattaya Music Festival now April 27-29

[anonone]

I just saw a news report that the Pattaya Music Festival has been re-scheduled for April 27-29.

I will probably be in town during this time, and just wondering if it is worthwhile to check out or better to avoid the whole thing.

Also, is this something that the boys like to hang out at or is it all aimed for the tourists?

Anyone attended one of these with something to report? From some pictures and websites, it looks like a pretty big festival.....

[newalaan]

will probably be in town during this time, and just wondering if it is worthwhile to check out or better to avoid the whole thing. Also, is this something that the boys like to hang out at or is it all aimed for the tourists?
Anonone, it is a massive festival, probably the biggest annual event on the Thai calendar for the music industry. The record companies use it to showcase their major artists and 'breakthrough' artists. Many artists further down the schedules you will see in later years as major stars. If you have any interest in music it is well worth a visit, if you have a love of music then you would be insane to miss the opportunity to see a very wide range of Thai artists over a very short time frame.

In my personal opinion it is 99% Thai aimed at Thais. For the nit-pickers out there I will adjust that to.......more than 95% Asians attending, to cover Thai and other Asian visitors. There are westerners there mostly just accompanying their thai girlfiriends/giks and maybe a few expats who know many of the Thai artists, but it is basically aimed at Thais.

Boys certainly do hang out there but really only in groups. And of course 'groups' tend to be of their 'kind' so you will find lots of gay Thais together. They go with friends for fun. Many of the working boys will obviously be at their bars unless they get taken off or pay their own bar fine. I don't know your situation regarding bf's but if you were taking a boy off he would be delighted to get to the festival as part of a 'longtime date' with you. For max fun invite a boy with 2-3 of his friends. Beer is served all around the events. If you can pick-up a brochure with all the info and stick it in your back pocket, if a boy takes your fancy it will be a great ice breaker, or something to chat about, if you tell him you are not sure how to get around and the best stages to go to, you will have a very willing 'guide'.

You have to make sure you get a programme in advance to decide which bands/artists you want to see as the stages are set out quite a distance from eachother. Add in the time it takes to get to each stage. But there is a great atmosphere surrounding the whole event, as there are hundreds of stalls selling wares and food stalls around the stage areas which is an attraction in itself for many Thais. I don't know the stage lay-outs this year but I would imagine there would be one at Bali pier and one somewhere aound the Walikng St beach area I suppose these would be 'walkable' not sure about any other stage distances.

While it does attract asian foreigners from Korea, Hong Kong and other Asian countries around Thailand, it is mostly aimed at Thais. The 'Inernational' aspect is more the fact there are International artists such as Rain from Korea performing to reach a Thai audience, Thais love Korean artists. The other 'International' aspect of attracting tourists from other countries no doubt is a part of it, but the hotels and guesthouses tend to fill up with Thais from other parts of the country. In previous years I used to aim some visits to coinside with the festival, but nowadays I am able to drive around Thailand more than previous years and prefer to see Thai artists in more intimate indoor venues, on saying that if the festival was on the same time as a visit i would'nt miss it for anything.

All above just personal experiences, opinions and my take on the festival. Others may have more/different experiences/opinions on the numbers/percentages and aims of the festival.

[anonone]

Newalan, thanks for your very informative post. This was exactly the type of information I was looking for.

I am a music fan and like to listen to different types, including the Asian artists. This sounds like a festival that will be a lot of fun for me. When possible, I like to take my BF (and some of his friends) to mor lam for a good time, so this will probably be a similar affair for us. And yes, I may even put a program in my back pocket on the off chance I notice a charming Thai guy that would like to make some new friends....

Again, thanks for the info.

Cheers.