Music Day Out! is an independent music festival which celebrates emerging bands in Singapore and the region and their DIY ethos.

The 2024 iteration was held at *Scape on Jan 13 and Jan 14, and it comprised band performances and sharing sessions by industry players.

The bands were an eclectic mix and the festival turned out to be hugely enjoyable. Against regional bands like Filipino math-rock band Gabba and Indonesian electronic act Prontaxan, Singaporean bands held their own, with math-pop outfit Woes, shoegaze band Blush and instrumental band monda(e) being particularly outstanding.

Held at *Scape The Ground Theatre, the event featured two stages on either side of the theatre. All festivalgoers had
to do was to turn around after every set from one stage to face the other, where the next band was gearing up to perform.

Kudos to the organisers and technical crew for making everything run like clockwork, and it was more or less a non-stop sensorial experience.

Having Music Day Out! at the start of the indie musical calendar augurs well for the rest of 2024.

Colin Lim