How are we almost halfway through the year? It’s been invigorating so far, but as we traverse the rest of 2018, it’s only going to get busier and more exciting. This month sees the return of many events, like the outdoor cinema series on Tanjong Beach, the beloved Shakespeare in the Park and the heady Singapore Cocktail Festival, as well as a whole bunch of concerts, film screenings and of course, parties. Lots of em.
FKJ / Bondax
CONCERT
Local promoters Moonbeats Asia is throwing a massive All Play, No Work party this Labour Day with a double-bill line-up featuring French multi-instrumentalist and singer FKJ and English electronic music duo Bondax. May 1
CONCERT
He might’ve just been here at last year’s SingJazz Festival, but Grammy nominated R&B singer-songwriter Brian McKnight is back for an intimate set at Hard Rock Cafe. The “Back At One” crooner, whose falsetto and belting range is second to none, can also play eight different instruments, including the piano, guitar, trombone, and flugelhorn. His body of work spans across many genres, having worked with other big-time artists like Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, just to name a few. Tickets available via Peatix. May 1
FILM
Your favorite outdoor cinema series, Peroni Sunset Cinema on Tanjong Beach returns for a second run, presenting blockbusters like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water and more. May 2-13
THEATER
The beloved annual Shakespeare in the Park by the Singapore Repertory Theatre was put on hold last year, but it returns this month thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. They’ll be staging Julius Caesar in its well-loved setting of Fort Canning Park. May 2-27
CONCERT
At his debut sold-out show last year, Harry Styles worked the crowd like a natural rock star in his floral get-up. Together with his four-piece band, Styles performed songs from his self-titled debut solo album, along with covers of rock anthems and of course, his renditions of two One Direction hits. “Due to overwhelming demand”, he’s added 56 more shows to his sold-out world tour, including one to Singapore with Warpaint. May 3
PARTY
Zouk is turning 27 this year. They’re celebrating it with a three-day weekend bender of sorts, with guest DJs Marshmello, Ben Nicky and Zouk residents helming the decks. May 3-5
THEATER
After sold-out success in London, Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong, UK-based theater company Secret Theatre Project is finally coming to Singapore, bringing to locals their unique style of interactive theater. The experience essentially takes audience members on a high-budget theatrical production that can include anything from deciding a central character’s fate to journeying through a full-blown haunted house adventure. Hear from founder Richard Crawford himself on what to expect here. May 3-Jun 10
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Stephane Pompougnac. Photo credit: Mathieu Dortomb
PARTY
The best of Singaporean and Parisian nightlife come together for one night as Sofitel Singapore City Centre brings its signature party series, La Nuit (literally meaning “the night”), to Singapore for the very first time, as part of the on-going Voilah! French Festival Singapore. Besides rubbing shoulders with international tastemakers, music aficionados and style influencers, the night promises a multi-sensory experience with experimental cocktails, a virtual stage, collaborative beats between French DJ Stephane Pompougnac and Singapore’s own DJ Kaylova and more to keep you revelling all night. May 4
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PARTY
Boogie down to the tunes of German DJ-producer Tensnake at Kilo, as he dishes out his brand of soulful and deep house music. May 4
CONCERT
Much can change in the course of a year. When Dua Lipa first came to Singapore for her Asia debut last May, her star was still faintly on the rise. Signed with Warner Bros Records since 2015, she presented an intimate acoustic showcase of early hits. This year, a newly inducted member of the teen pop star hall of fame, the award-winning artist is blessing us all—by returning to our shores for a full solo concert. May 4
PARTY
Singapore’s coolest parking lot bar, The Great Escape, will be popping off with a delicious cauldron of classic funk, soul groove, jazz, afro, hip-hop, house and disco music, freshly prepared and dished out by the likes of MC SWTLKR and DJs Kenneth Francis, Ramesh, Jean-Baptiste and more at this edition of Kampong Boogie. May 4
PARTY
Let Adrian Wee and Cats On Crack whip you into shape with their regime of house, indie disco and electronica at Modern Love, happening at Tuff Club. May 4
Star Wars Run during Star Wars Day 2017
FESTIVAL
May the Fourth be with you. We’re just less than a month away from the release of the second Star Wars anthology film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. To tide you over the excruciating wait, celebrate Star Wars Day at the F1 Pit Building. May 4-5
DRINK
Prepare for a boozy 10 days at this year’s upsized Singapore Cocktail Festival. Expect the same cocktail bar tours, exciting parties, workshops, great drink promos and more, as well as the weekend-long Festival Village. May 4-13
DRAG/PARTY
It’s gonna be a mean, sordid affair of disco, drag, dim sum and daytime dancing over at Tuff Club, as Yum Yum Disco Dong’s Bobby drops some yummy disco classics while Riot!’s Becca D’Bus and her gang of dumplings wow you with drag performances throughout the day. May 5
DRINK/FOOD/PERFORMANCE
For the second year running, Poland Shiok! returns to the greens of Botanic Gardens where you can enjoy a fine afternoon of picnicking to the soundtrack of Polish music performed live by Polish musicians on the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage. Just pre-order your picnic baskets, which comes with a complete cocktail set, Polish nibbles and picnic gear, on BottleXO’s app. May 6
Bruno Mars
CONCERT
Three years after playing to a sold-out crowd in Singapore, singing sensation Bruno Mars makes his return to Singapore for his lauded “24K Magic World Tour”. Tickets are sold out, but look around the web or the Facebook event page and you might strike gold. May 6-7
FILM
The sixth edition of the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, a joint program organized by Singapore Film Society (SFS) and Centre for Chinese Studies, Singapore University of Social Sciences (CCS@SUSS), returns with a whopping 58 films in total across four main segments: Chinese Panorama (narrative feature films), Documentary Vision (documentaries), Chinese Shorts Showcase (short films) and a Tribute to Leslie Cheung (four films to pay homage to the man himself). Through May 6
EXHIBITION
Singapore artist Brian Gothong Tan’s “Lost Cinema” is an exploration of Asian filmography. He deconstructs tropes often found in this genre, with a focus on three iconic films that will help answer questions like, “How does our perception of a film change when live performances by the actors are introduced?” and “How does the mood or narrative change when colour and sound are removed from a film?” Through May 6
CONCERT
It’s evident that Stereophonics has loyal fans in Singapore. They made their debut at Fort Canning Park (with The Great Spy Experiment as the opening act), rocking out to a 5000-strong crowd. And then they came back to rock out the same venue again in 2010 (remember that slipper incident?) and once more at The Coliseum in 2013. Now they’re returning, stronger than ever. May 8
PARTY
Yes, most of us saw that article about Emo Night. Nonetheless, the raucous night returns unscathed and unapologetic to Kilo Lounge once again for your nostalgic indulgence of mid-week screaming, moshing and memory-pegged, tear-jerking songs of yesteryear. May 9
PARTY
It may be a Wednesday night, but Spanish DJ/record label owner/electronic music producer John Talabot is gonna be in town. Back after five years, he’ll be dishing out his special blend of house and electronic music at The Great Escape for Escape 56’s sixth pop-up party. May 9
EUFF – The Divine Order. Photo credit: Zodiac Pictures
FILM
The long-running European Union Film Festival (EUFF) is back for its 28th run, returning once again to their newfound home from last year, National Gallery Singapore. The festival presents more than 20 gripping, provocative and hilarious films from across the Europe. Check out our picks here. May 10-20
TOUR
It’s one thing to take a walk through hell at Haw Par Villa during the day, and a whole other experience if you go at night. The twilight tour of Haw Par Villa is back—check out the infamous 10 Courts of Hell, King of Ghosts, the upcoming Hell’s Museum and the Aw family memorials. May 11
FILM
And among the hundreds of events scheduled for this year’s SIFA is the pinnacle performing arts festival’s film series Singular Screens, which will see one Asian premiere and 12 Singapore premieres curated by Asian Film Archives. Each of these films celebrate the independent voices around the world and the power of the individual, and professes a love for cinema, providing unique cinematic visuals and narratives. Through May 11
MARKET
A new month calls for a new Katong Square market, which, with its vinyl records and vintage goods, touts itself as Singapore’s only true blue vintage flea market. Resident booths include familiar names like The Retro Factory, Memory Lane and The Great Vinyl Exchange—where you can pick up anything from retro haute couture to Art Deco pieces. This month, shop alongside live entertainment by local band Street Crickets, the market’s line-up of old-school DJs, and a magician. May 11-13
For more markets happening in May, click here.
FESTIVAL
The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is back and this 2018 edition marks the changing of the guard at the helm as Singapore Repertory Theatre director Gaurav Kripalani takes over the festival. He’s promised to make this a more accessible festival this year. Expect more than 100 events spread over three weeks by performers from 15 countries at 13 venues. Through May 12
FOOD
Annual pop-up secret dinner party, Le Diner en Blanc, is back for its sixth edition. This year, they’re celebrating the global 30th anniversary of the chi chi event that first started in Paris across all 80 participating cities worldwide, including Singapore. You’ll only know where it’s gonna be held on the day itself. May 12
DRINK/FOOD
Everything warrants a festival these days—even bacteria, believe it or not. Hip bottle shop Temple Cellars is organizing Funk’d Fest, Asia’s first ever fermentation festival, celebrating all things fermented including foods like yogurt and sambal belacan, and of course beer, through 16 retail vendors. May 12-13
Photo credit: Iron & Wine’s Facebook page
CONCERT
American singer-songwriter Sam Beam a.k.a. Iron & Wine has been well loved ever since he came on the scene back in 2002. After more than a decade, he’s finally dropping by for his debut performance with a full band in Capitol Theatre. May 14
COMEDY
After leaving us in stitches back in 2016 and keeping her promise of not censoring herself, comedian Margaret Cho returns to the Kallang Theatre with her swanky new routine, “Fresh Off The Bloat”. May 15
PARTY
Keeping his promise of bringing quality acts to Singapore and an unwavering good time, nightlife stalwart Zig Zach delivers once again by presenting American DJ, producer and radio host of the long-running Beats in Space show Tim Sweeney to our shores under the recently reignited party night, Ritual. May 18
WELLNESS
A classic since 2008, the Osim Sundown Marathon will see you running with pals from 5pm on Saturday till 10am next morning. This year’s race categories include a 5km fun run, 10km challenge, 21.1km half marathon, and the 42.195km full marathon. As the mighty (and the organizers) say: sleep can wait. May 19
WELLNESS
Just because nobody really talks about it, doesn’t mean they’re not doing it. We’re talking about sex, baby. Enter Spark Fest Asia, Asia’s first full-fledged sexual wellness festival that returns in its inaugural standalone edition. May 19
COMEDY
Catch everyone’s favorite drag queen comedian Kumar as he dishes out his usual antics, politically incorrect rants and Singapore issues-based jokes at Canvas. May 22
CONCERT
Grammy-nominated R&B songstress Kehlani will be making her Singapore debut at Zepp @ Big Box. The critically acclaimed record SweetSexySavage is a brutally honest one where she waxes lyrical about her life, pain, passion, love, triumph and everything in between. May 23
Toruk – The First Flight. Photo credit: Matt Beard © 2017 Cirque du Soleil
PERFORMANCE
Catch the latest performance masterpiece by traveling theatrical and performance troupe Cirque du Soleil, Toruk – The First Flight, based on James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic, Avatar. May 24-Jun 3
MARKET
Rejoice or recoil—Bangkok’s legendary Artbox Singapore is finally back, with a self-proclaimed line-up that’s “three times bigger than last year”. Head down to the Bayfront event space to shop the 400 regional vendors selling everything from food to trinkets to Instagrammable moments. We can’t promise that crowd control will be any better than last year, but 400 booths at the island’s largest creative market does sound enticing. May 25-27, Jun 1-3
FESTIVAL
For the first time, the annual arts festival organized by Goodman Arts Centre is going green, with a lineup of events and activities themed after reimagining creative yet environmentally sustainable ways of making art. There’ll also be performances, original theatrical work and workshops to catch. May 26
WELLNESS
Now that the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival is over, the scenic space along Bayfront will be taken up by the seventh edition of DBS Marina Regatta. Headlining it is Battle Bay Extreme, which has been touted as the largest land and water obstacle course in Southeast Asia. May 26-27, Jun 2-3
PARTY
One of our favorite things to happen on public holiday eves is Zouk’s iconic Mambo Jambo. Once a Wednesday staple at the old premises on Jiak Kim, the night will be filled with nothing but good vibes, synchronized dance moves and familiar tracks from yesteryears. May 28
PARTY
If you’re not up for Mambo, head up to Capital where it’ll be absolutely popping as trance heavyweight John “00” Fleming helms the decks. He brings along his signature “J00F sound”, a distinct style of music described as “deep, textured and progressive with an underground approach”, which he’s carved for himself over the years. May 28
Voilah! French Festival Singapore 2018 – Human Nature
EXHIBITION
Human Version is an introspective exhibition filled with photographic and videographic works designed to explore the nascent relationship between humans and robots. Held at Alliance Francaise de Singapour’s La Galerie, the all-encompassing exhibition will give you a rare insight into research labs often kept away from the public eye. Through Jun 2
MARKET
The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) turns 80 this year. And to celebrate, they’re throwing an eight-week arts festival to showcase the school’s diverse talents. As part of the festival, a series of festival markets will take place each weekend, featuring craft-makers and jewellers, local fashion labels, original artworks and vintage collectibles. You can even be part of the excitement and book a booth here. Through Jun 3
EXHIBITION
You’d think a traveling exhibition from the London Natural History Museum would be hard to top, but ArtScience Museum’s upcoming shtick will trace 40 years of street art, from its controversial beginnings as expressions of counterculture, to its current standing as a major pillar of contemporary art. Art from the Streets will feature the works of the world’s top street artists, such as Magda Danysz, Banksy, Shepard Fairey and more. Through Jun 3
EXHIBITION
Chinese New Year may be long over, but this new exhibition looks at the Chinese zodiac through the eyes of European artists. The internationally renowned Mazel Galerie from Brussels has commissioned The Great Race, a new exhibition that takes source material from the traditional Chinese zodiac. Through Jun 30
FOOD
Goodwood Park Hotel’s annual durian festival returns with all-time favorites like durian puffs, crepes, strudels, ice cream and more. Through Jul 22
