I really like Thai pop-rock bands. You often see them either at open-air venues – such as the Ban Khun Por food court in Hua Hin, where bands come every evening to sing a few songs before moving on – or at large festivals where better-known and more professional bands come to perform.
Generally speaking, these are free concerts, often organised by the local council, but of course, as in every country, there are also concerts featuring bigger stars that charge an admission fee and attract huge crowds.

Why do I like these bands?

There are several reasons.
Firstly: although I’m not a great music lover and have no musical expertise, I generally enjoy the melodies even if I don’t understand the lyrics. And I think they have incredible energy.

The second reason is that they sing almost exclusively in Thai. And I think that’s great. In France, most pop-rock bands sing in English, even though there are a few bands with original French lyrics.

Thais are very proud of their country, their culture and their language. They champion it through their singing, and that’s a good thing.

The third reason is the structure of these bands. I imagine that, as in all bands, there is a leader. And unlike what we often see in Anglo-Saxon bands or bands in France, it is very rare for one singer to be given much more prominence than the others. Most of the time, these bands consist of five or six musicians, sometimes more. And four or five male and female singers.

What’s interesting is that you might well see a male singer come on stage at the start, sing one or two songs with varying degrees of backing vocals from other band members.
And then, often after two songs, he steps aside, moves back a little, and a female singer – or two – comes to the front of the stage and performs a few songs; then it’s someone else’s turn, and then the first one comes back.

There’s very often a rotation of lead singers. It brings a lot of energy to the concert and variety in terms of song style, vocal range, and so on. That’s really nice.

I strongly urge you, when you visit Thailand, to try and find a venue where one of these bands is performing. I think you’ll have a brilliant time – the only problem is that the sound system is always extremely loud. The Thais love it; that’s just how it is here. But I’d advise against standing too close to the speakers.