Baybeats 2025

That was the Baybeats weekend wrapped up. This 2025 is the 24th edition of the festival, and it's amazing that Esplanade is still offering all shows free for the audience, and bulk of the costs for staging, and accommodation for the overseas bands. I didn't take Choya along this time because with the addition of the stage at the Forecourt, it was wayyy too loud for the Smol Girl. And this year's bands are a lot heavier. 

There were FOUR NIGHTS of Baybeats this year, but we missed the first. So we went for Day 1, and Day 3. I would have liked to catch A Vacant Affair (AVA) on a full stage and rocking it out, but I had things to do, so skipped Esplanade. So I caught AVA on an acoustic set. 

I would have loved to catch Bellied Star, but I didn't put heart into checking out tickets (the indoor shows are free, but you'd need to register via SISTIC) for their set at the Annexe. What a pity. But I did catch plenty of these outdoor shows. I didn't realize that Carsick Cars (晕车车) from Beijing have been around for decades! Their debut album was released in 2007 and this was my first time catching them. N.Y.P.D. 南洋派对 (HK) were really quite good.

Aggressive Raisin Cat was so fun. The mosh circle too. I never liked mosh pits, so I assiduously avoid them even as a teenager. Tonight, I thought we left a wide space for the kids, but apparently the circle got bigger and bigger. Their balance isn't very good huh, or they aren't all dancers. Many kids fell down. And I swear, two were high on something. Okay lah, outdoors. Y'all play.  

That was a similar mosh pit for Battlesnake too. They played at the same LiveWire stage at the Forecourt Garden. The Australian band closed off Baybeats on Sunday night. They were hilarious. Those furry outfits had to come off before halfway through the show. It was too damn hot. And one of them climbed the light stand. OMG. I mean it made for great visuals, but I guess he didn't really consider that if he fell, he could be maimed, or accidentally topple the scaffolding and kill his own audience. 

The weather was insane. Blistering hot even in the nights, and then rainy till the evening for Day 3, but it stopped in time for the 7.30pm outdoor shows. I didn't bother take many photos or clips of the shows. I was standing too far from the stages. I thought I'd be too old for this, but I saw so many familiar faces. Had a drink some and said hi to many more. It felt like people came to check out this year's Baybeats again after skipping it for a few years.