Baybeats 2025

Programmer's message

Dear Baybeats Family,

For some of you, Baybeats, presented by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, has been a constant through the years—the place you discovered your first mosh pit, the stage where your friends played their first set, or where you found a community that spoke the same language of noise, riffs, and resistance.

This year, we’re stretching Singapore’s largest alternative music festival across four days, from 30 Oct – 2 Nov 2025. The festival remains free for all to enjoy. What’s more, for the first time in a while, welcoming back the LiveWire Stage at the Esplanade Forecourt Garden, making it a total of five stages instead of the usual four. I can already picture the crowd under the open sky, the music spilling out into the city, and that unmistakable Baybeats energy roaring back to life.

We’re also widening the circle. With artists from various countries and regions, Baybeats becomes a crossroads for different sounds and perspectives, showing us how alternative music connects beyond borders.

And because this scene is as much about ideas as it is about songs, we’re launching a series of panel talks with delegates from the region and Singapore. Expect conversations on touring, festivals, communities and the impact of music made in Asia. Think of it as a chance to gather not just in sound, but in thought.

Not forgetting our platform for emerging artists, we’re proud to have our newly acquainted Baybeats Budding entourage of bands, photographers, emcees and writers with us at the festival.

I’m also happy to share news of our partnership with The Rest Is Noise from Philippines and Big Mountain Festival from Thailand. For us, the festival has always been about the community and looking beyond Singapore to connect with our regional friends are a reminder that we are part of something bigger. They’re about the stories we share, the support for one another and keeping the independent music spirit alive together.

Not forgetting this festival would not be what it is without the generous support of our Principal Sponsor, KEEN. We’re also grateful to 4th Wall Studios and Showlite Systems for standing alongside us in keeping alternative music thriving. As Singapore turns 60, it feels right to celebrate the role alternative music has played in shaping our identity—sometimes quietly in the corners, sometimes loudly in the spotlight, but always present, always evolving.

So whether you’re here for the pits, the panels, or just to catch up with familiar faces, know that Baybeats wouldn’t be what it is without you. Thanks for showing up, year after year, to keep this community alive. See you at the front.

Hydhir Ramli 

Programmer, The Esplanade Co Ltd 

On behalf of the Baybeats  team