Many music stars and winners of music competitions in Vietnam live in Hanoi, but the capital city’s music life is not as lively as HCM City’s.

Hanoi doesn’t have a music market: That is the comment of all visitors who love music when they come to Hanoi because it is very hard to find a place for music.

Quiet night clubs

Aladin, owned by People’s Artist, singer Thanh Hoa, is perhaps the night club that has the most music shows. As the only night club in Hanoi that focuses on revolutionary music, Aladin has a loyal audience. However, the names like Thanh Hoa, Anh Tho, Viet Hoan, Tan Nhan, Ho Anh Dung can only attract several tens of audience members each night. Aladin is only full during the weekend or when it organises really big shows.

Ho Guom Xanh (Green Sword Lake), which is considered the most hip music bar for youth in Hanoi, is very quiet. Like Aladin, this bar is bustling during the weekend or on holidays, when the bar invites “music stars”. On the weekdays, besides some sexy dances, Ho Guom Xanh is the stage for exclusive Ho Guom Xanh singers like Tra My, Anh Tu and Viet Dung.

Singer Thu Ba, music manager at Ho Guom Xanh, said this bar doesn’t have any special show for Hanoian singers in the coming time, but it will have shows for singers from HCM City such as Doan Trang and Ha Anh Tuan and overseas Vietnamese singers like Jimmy Nguyen and Huong Lan.

The Jazz Club of musicians Quyen Van Minh and Quyen Thien Dac is a rendezvous for jazz music fans in Hanoi. However, this bar is not crowded because jazz is not a popular genre of music. Most of the audience members at the Jazz Club are foreigners or students of music schools. It is very difficult for guests to find a bar with classical music in Hanoi.

“Leisure” singers

Economic slowdown has hit the music market in Hanoi, which was quiet to begin with. This International Woman’s Day (March 8), Hanoi had only two big shows on two nights, Ru Tinh and Yellow Daisy of March, which gathered divas like Thanh Lam, My Linh, Ho Quynh Huong, and Nguyen Ngoc Anh.

In HCM City, music stars appear very often at night clubs but in Hanoi stars like My Linh and Thanh Lam never sing at night clubs. Diva Thanh Lam said that when she releases her new album this June she doesn’t plan to sing in Hanoi.

My Linh, though she is busier than Thanh Lam, said she would attend the Pham Duy Music show on March 27 and the Cherry Blossom Festival on April 11. She said the quiet music market has had impacts on her life and she is now earning her living by other activities, such as playing in advertising clips.

Singer Ngoc Anh has given many shows, but not in Hanoi. She generally travels between Da Nang and Quang Ninh, Hai Phong and HCM City.

Free shows on TV

Explaining the quiet environment for music in the capital city, Thanh Lam said economic crisis has drastically hit the entertainment industry and it is very difficult to draw an audience to music performances at this moment. Show organisers don’t dare to venture the risk.

Another reason, she said, is that Hanoi has never been animated like HCM City. Most Hanoians don’t have the habit of enjoying live music at the weekend. Especially, in an economic crisis, they would rather stay at home and watch free shows on TV than go to see live shows.

VietNamNet/NLD