With an ethos rooted in nurturing budding talent and bringing alternative music to the fore, Baybeats 2025 is the latest and greatest incarnation of Singapore’s largest free music festival. This year, it’s back and more bombastic than ever before thanks to a whopping five stages, and for the first time, an expanded lineup featuring artists across the region.
Maybe you’re looking to broaden your musical palate. Maybe you’re looking to spend a weekend filling your ears with sick tunes and cutting edges. Or maybe you’re looking to invest early in some OG fan club cards before cashing them in with a smug “I liked them before they were cool” in a few years. Whatever it is, we’ve prepared a taster course of some of Baybeats 2025’s hottest acts along with some tips on getting prime parking, so you won’t spend your weekend spamming the shuffle button.
01 • Carsick cars
Not content to dominate China’s underground circuit, Carsick Cars have turned their attention southwards, bringing their take on 90s noise-rock to Singapore for the first time. The band’s combination of dense distortion and a laid-back vocal style call to mind visions of indie movies and skateboards on pavement.
Though their sound has mellowed from their days of unfettered Sonic Youth worship, Carsick Car’s palette of textures nonetheless keeps the same jaunty spirit that makes their music pair so well with outdoor venues.
📍Venue: DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade
⏰ Time: 2nd Nov, Sun, 7:40pm
🎵 Recommended listening: 15 minutes older
02 • rathmock
It takes some genuine chops to get an audience to yell along to your music within 60 seconds of taking the mic, especially when your set’s first song is literally called None of us can sing. This is rathmock, a local trio that isn’t shy to use any instrument and time signature they can get their hands on to get a laugh out of their audience. Where else could you find a chorus that transitions from yells of “I’m calling the cops / I’m calling my mom / I’m calling my dad” right into a death metal growl?
Of course, a band calling itself rathmock wouldn’t only deal in skit music. Despite jokingly referring to their genre “fake math rock”, you’ll nonetheless find no shortage of the intricate guitar interplays and technical playing that gave the genre its name, as well as a nimbleness that recalls a less caustic Zappa at points. No matter what you’re looking for in your slacker music, this is one performance that you’re sure to leave with a smile on your face and a groove in your step.
📍Venue: DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade
⏰ Time: 30th Oct, Thurs, 8:20pm
🎵 Recommended listening: Hi we are rathmock
03 • mouse on the keys
Japanese jazz has long been synonymous with cool-headed nerdiness and extremely specifically-titled youtube playlists. And while mouse on the keys aren’t the first outfit to blend this approach with similarly nerdy genres like math-rock, they might be the first to do so with such sheer bravado. Take Saigo no Bansan for instance, where Daisuke Niitome and Takumi Shiroeda’s combined plinking sounds ripped straight out of the 70’s fusion era, only to be planted firmly in the post dial-up world by Akira Kawasaki’s decidedly contemporary drumming.
Even at their most conventional, their songs are chock-full of relentless compositions that make you wonder if this is what Herbie Hancock would have sounded like if he ever played with hot coals beneath his feet. Tense, but never motionless.
mouse on the keys aren’t just a treat for the ears. The trio’s performances are typically paired by hits of tasteful visual design, resulting in a live experience that has kept local fans entranced ever since their first Singaporean performance in 2013. 🐭🔑
📍Venue: Singtel Waterfront Theatre at Esplanade
⏰ Time: 2nd Nov, Sun, 10:40pm
🎵 Recommended listening: Spectres de mouse
04 • Microchip Terror
I’ve never seen a band owe this much of its existence to a single movie. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with cult classic Tetsuo the Iron Man will instantly recognise the influence it and its spawn (hi, Meatball Machine!) have had on the band’s visual stylings. And while Microchip Terror’s music may stray away from the film’s soundtrack of screeching, clanging, metal, it nonetheless carries the same rabid, tetanus-infected edge.
Ultra-bright synths and unrelenting walls of sound make this band sound like someone circuit-bent an Ada Rook album through a gameboy. And just like the best circuit-bent music, there is an undeniable sense of polish throughout the whole thing. One only need to listen to a cover of theirs to realise that the band’s dedication to this aesthetic is more than gimmick; it’s the sound of Microchi Terror reaching into your sound card’s deepest recesses and yanking out the end of the world.
📍Venue: Chillout Stage, Esplanade Concourse
⏰ Time: 2nd Nov, Sun, 6pm and 9:10pm
🎵 Recommended listening: Mechanical Gore
05 • Ali
Ali’s lineup reads like a dream team of some of Indonesian rock’s most influential figures, but it was only recently that they began getting their well-deserved props abroad. Even if their music was “just” psych-funk, the band’s clear mastery of the genre makes it impossible not to groove around. But the incorporation of Middle Eastern percussion and melodies sneaks up on you if you’re not paying attention, and sends Ali’s vibey-ness straight through the stratosphere.
📍Venue: DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade
⏰ Time: 31th Oct, Fri, 10:20pm
🎵 Recommended listening: Downtown Strut
06 • SHINSEINA
Following in Singapore’s great lineage of boundary-pushing metal music is SHINSEINA, a five-piece metalcore band with melodies grindy enough to make Trent Reznor blush. Of course, like any self-respecting metal act, they’ve taken the time to fill their repertoire with polyrhythmic drumming, hints of synths, and melodies that bring order to the natural chaos of metal music. This is music that accommodates chin-stroking and head-banging in equal amounts.
SHINSEINA’s sound is best understood in conversation with metalcore's greats. Their sound combines 2010s metalcore’s epic sense of scale with the rawness of the genre’s progenitors. To top it off, vocalist Josiah Kunaraz’s epic set of pipes allows the band to punch far above its weight. Be sure to bring earplugs!🤘
📍Venue: DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade
⏰ Time: 30th Oct, Thurs, 7pm
🎵 Recommended listening: Crossfire
Frequently asked questions
Where can I park at Baybeats 2025?
Ready to hit the road? The festival takes place at the Esplanade, so you’ll have plenty of options for parking.
🅿️ Recommended parking:
- Esplanade Basement Carpark: The Esplanade has a basement carpark with plenty of lots. Their rates stay at a steady $2.30 per hour or part thereof, but spaces go quickly during events, so be sure to come early.
- Marina Square: While parking here during peak periods is pricey, Marina Square’s off-peak rates are generally far more reasonable, especially considering that most of Baybeat’s performances take place during the evenings.
Monday - Thursday
7:00am - 5:00pm
$3.27 for first 2 hours or part thereof
$1.64 per ½ hour and every subsequent ½ hour or part thereof
5:00pm - 11:00pm
$2.25 per entry
Overnight parking (11:00pm - 7:00am)
$1.12 per ½ hour, and every subsequent ½ hour or part thereof
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays
7:00am - 2:00am
$2.44 for first 2 hours or part thereof
$1.22 per hour for next 2 subsequent hours or part thereof
$1.43 per ½ hour for subsequent ½ hour or part thereof or part thereof after 4 hours parking
Overnight parking (2:00am - 7:00am)
$1.12 per ½ hour For every subsequent ½ hour or part thereof
- Suntec City: If you don’t mind the short trek, Suntec City offers cheaper parking throughout the day.
Mondays to Fridays except Public Holidays
7:00am - 5:00pm
$2.60 for the first hour
$1.30 per 30 mins or part thereof
5:00pm - 4:00am
$3.00 per entry
4:00am - 7:00am
$2.60 for the first hour
$1.30 per 30 mins or part thereof
Saturday, Sundays and Public Holidays
7:00am - 4:00am
$2.60 for the first hour
$1.30 for the next 3 hours
$1.30 per 30 mins after the 4th hour or part thereof
4:00am - 7:00am
$2.60 for the first hour
$1.30 per 30 mins or part thereof
How can I get there via public transport?
If you prefer to take the train before your Baybeats drive, the Esplanade is easily accessible via two MRT stations:
- City Hall MRT Station (NS25 / EW13): Walk through CityLink Mall to reach Marina Square, which is right across the road from the Esplanade.
- Esplanade MRT Station (CC3): A short walk through Marina Link, will bring you right to the venue.
Whether you’re catching a full four days of music or just dropping by to see what’s up, this year’s Baybeats looks to be one for the books. Who are you planning to check out?
See you in the crowd,
Amanda 💙
(Featured photo: Esplanade)
