This year’s Baybeats 2025 was a triumph — four days of sweat, sound, and spirit that reaffirmed the festival’s place at the beating heart of Singapore’s alternative scene. From explosive mosh pits to moments of quiet transcendence, this year’s edition felt like a homecoming. The addition of the LiveWire Stage at the Esplanade Forecourt Garden — an open-air throwback to the original Powerhouse stage — brought back the raw energy of classic Baybeats: wide skies, loud guitars, and a sea of fans ready to lose themselves to the music.
These were Bandwagon's favourite sets from a truly thrilling weekender.
At Powerhouse², Bandung’s Rub of Rub turned the night into a dreamstate of dub. Their performance was hypnotic — a swirling mix of reggae basslines, echoing synths, and psychedelic percussion that rolled like tropical thunder. Each groove deepened the trance; each drop, a shared exhale. It was immersive, communal, and impossibly alive — the kind of set that left bodies swaying long after the last note faded.
Ali from Jakarta wove a spell of a different kind at the Arena. Their seamless blend of Middle Eastern rhythms, 70s Indonesian funk, and cinematic soul created a hypnotic fusion that defied categorisation. Frontman John Paul Patton sang in Arabic with the authority of a preacher and the charisma of a rock star, his voice gliding over grooves both sultry and sacred. It was music that felt ancient and modern at once — a sonic pilgrimage through faith, funk, and fever.
Day 3 at the Annexe Studio began with FORD TRIO brought a sunrise warmth to the evening. Their neo Thai funk — steeped in molam tradition and glazed with neo-soul fluidity — flowed through the crowd like honey. With gentle grooves and ritualistic precision, they created a set that was both spiritual and seductive, the kind of music that doesn’t demand attention so much as it envelops you.
Then came one of the weekend’s defining moments: weish at Powerhouse². Backed by an all-star live band and three backup vocalists, the Singaporean artist reimagined her earlier loop-based works and unveiled new songs from her stray gods project — first performed at SIFA 2025 as a multidisciplinary work that wove fragments of Hakka folk memory and Greek myth. What was once a theatrical performance had been distilled into pure music: elemental, powerful, and deeply human. Her voice was a force of nature — soaring, whispering, and commanding all at once. It was stirring, almost spiritual — a set that transcended language and genre. By the final note, you could feel the enrapt audience collectively holding their breath, suspended in her orbit.
From Tokyo, paranoid void followed with razor-sharp precision and fearless complexity. Making their Singapore debut, the trio delivered a jaw-dropping display of math-rock mastery — intricate time signatures, melodic chaos, and moments of sublime quiet. Every transition was seamless, every burst of sound calculated yet cathartic. The crowd was transfixed; few bands could make such technical prowess feel so emotionally alive.
bongjeingan brought Seoul’s creative heartbeat to the festival. Made up of members from Hyukoh, Sultan of the Disco, and Kiha & The Faces, the trio channelled a raw honesty that blurred the lines between indie rock and math rock. Their set was luminous and loose, anchored in rhythm but unafraid to drift into wild crescendos. It felt like watching three musicians heal each other in real time — and inviting everyone else to join in.
At the Arena, toconoma transformed the evening into a wordless celebration. Their video game-inspired jazz-funk fusion filled the open air with light, their grooves playful yet profound.
Japan’s mouse on the keys were a key highlight of the final day with a set that was pure poetry in motion. Returning to Singapore after nearly a decade, the trio delivered an immaculate performance of math rock and jazz-inflected complexity. Their twin pianos and percussion formed a hypnotic pulse, each note a collision between intellect and emotion. Their show felt less like a gig and more like architecture built from sound — cold precision warmed by human touch.
N.Y.P.D. 南洋派对 from Hong Kong delivered one of the most electrifying sets of the festival. Hailing from the high-rises of Tai Kok Tsui, they turned post-punk into pure adrenaline. Blending Cantonese slang, jagged riffs, and street humour, they channeled the chaos of their city into a performance that was raw, urgent, and alive. Feeling like a Cantonese version of Kneecap from Mong Kok, their set was equal parts rebellion and joy — a whirlwind of wit and rage proved to be utterly captivating.
The final day climaxed in beautiful chaos. At LiveWire, Battlesnake stormed the stage in a blaze of metallic glory — a high-voltage spectacle equal parts theatre and thunder. Their sound was colossal, their outfits were outlandish, and their energy was untameable. Whether they were scaling columns, stripping to their underwear, or running through the crowd in a frenzy - the venue continually erupted in delighted disbelief at the band's antics. It was raucous, ridiculous, and exhilarating — exactly what a Sunday night should be.
Honourable mentions:
The long-awaited reunion of A Vacant Affair was a moment of pure nostalgia, a flashback to Baybeats’ golden age, with fans screaming every lyric as if no time had passed. Malaysia’s Sekumpulan Orang Gila also impressed with a genre-defying masterclass in Nusantaracore — their fusion of post-hardcore, Malay instrumentation, and poetic rebellion lighting up the night. And from South Korea, Silica Gel delivered one of the festival’s most buzzworthy performances — a kaleidoscopic swirl of psychedelia, art rock, and noise pop that reminded everyone why they’re one of Asia’s most forward-thinking bands.
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