TRIFECTA by The Ride Side, Asia’s first snow, surf, and skate hangout in Singapore officially did a drop-in with an inaugural music festival from 18 to 19 November 2023.
The two-day Singapore music festival featured 28 local and international artistes and DJs, with Ruel and Phum Viphurit as the headlining acts.
There were many acts to catch, including the coolest Lion City reps like Shye, Yao, Cashew Chemists, Club Mild (formerly M1LDLIFE), Lewloh, Akeem Jahat and more! Also in the festival lineup were New Zealand multi-instrumentalist, Fazerdaze, and Philippines’ Lola Amour.
Managed to catch these acts in action:
Day 1
RRILEY
The crowd was unprepared with the heavy rain and almost missed RRILEY’s performance. Luckily, her set was pushed back by an hour, till the rain subsided and technical difficulties were resolved.
The rain did not dampen the mood as RRILEY turned up the heat with catchy R&B-pop single, You Should Have Said So, and dance number, Fire. She sang, grooved, and danced to her songs – infused with body rolls, hip thrusts, waacking and leg splits.
The crowd waved along to RRILEY’s sentimental track, Growing Pains, as she shared how the song is based on personal experience on coping with anxiety.
The two dancers also gave their all as they showed coordinated steps and huge smiles alongside RRILEY.
It was an apt ending as RRILEY sang her iconic second debut single, Mmm Bye.
Ruel
Ruel was the fuel needed to end Day 1 of Trifecta Music Festival on a high note.
He sauntered up the stage as he mimicked his fingers to the keys of the keyboard to GO ON WITHOUT ME. Safe to say, the crowd couldn’t go on without Ruel.
The crowd immediately sang along, as Ruel started singing with the tallest mic stand I had ever seen in my life. If you didn’t know, he was introduced on stage as a 6ft5 tall (good-looking) man.
He then continued to sing his upbeat songs like Growing Up Is ____ and YOU AGAINST YOURSELF, as he moved up and down the stage to get closer to the fans.
Ruel slowed it down with Face To Face and the crowd was faced with the band’s beautiful keyboard solo.
Not only that, Ruel showed off his charms on his guitar to SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEM.
It definitely wasn’t a problem for the crowd to see Ruel playing the keyboard and singing a short rendition of Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling (but that was the only time he played the keys).
The crowd continued singing along to his introspective songs that was accentuated with the keyboard, as he belted out to Hard Sometimes and Golden Hour (Ruel Remix). He gave a satisfied smile as he listened to his fans in that moment.
Ruel then picked up his acoustic guitar to sing an older song, ‘distance’, and one from his latest album, SITTING IN TRAFFIC.
He then sang Flames, a song he featured on with SG Lewis. The song was emotional and I could not help but to focus on the band. They played it in an excellent manner, including Ruel’s riff solo with his electric guitar on stage.
Ruel then moved from being sentimental to more brighter pop tunes with Dazed & Confused, and Younger, which featured one of my favourite moments from Ruel’s set. The drummer played it real solid that kept me in awe, even amidst the guitar riffs.
Ruel proceeded to turn up the atmosphere and asked the crowd to put their hands up and jammed to Painkiller. Ruel definitely melted the pain away as he pulled out the falsettos.
He sang, grooved, and danced to songs from the latest 4th Wall album (which will have a deluxe album soon out soon!), including I DON’T WANNA BE LIKE YOU. It was cute how he acted shocked when the crowd sang that one particular eplicit line back at him.
The set was just months after his solo concert here in Singapore, and Trifecta felt right like home for the Australian singer-songwriter, as he deemed it the ‘festival that was made for him’.
There were lots of eye contact with the fans, and he also signed a cd for a fan in the middle of the set.
The set lasted about an hour, which was shorter than expected, but he sang song after song without a break with solid vocals and a wonderful band!
DAY 2
Phum Viphurit
The crowd for Day 2 was all pumped up and ready to catch their ‘Lover Boy’ Phum Viphurit as the headliner.
Similar to Ruel, he was back in SG for Trifecta Music Festival just a few months after his SG concert in May.
Phum introduced himself and the band on stage with Adore.
The crowd definitely adored the instrumentals and Phum’s voice as they clapped and danced along.
I really enjoyed the way Phum interacted with the band as well as the crowd. There was always some sort of back and forth in the interactions.
Phum shines most on stage when he plays his instruments. Being a multi-instrumentalist, he not only performed with his iconic guitar, but also a drum solo as he transitioned to the next song, Lady Papaya.
He then continued as the frontman with Strangers In A Dream, which featured a flute solo on stage! It sounded beautiful, especially since the song explores the dynamic between two people who share a strong connection despite their differences.
Phum performed Loving & Letting Go and Greng Jai Please next, songs from his latest album.
His songs brought out mellow and intimate tunes, with various genres infused wonderfully.
The Thai indie icon then invited us to have fuzzy feelings with Healing House. Even if he was raised in cool New Zealand, his sound is definitely warm and unique.
While we could not have ‘one more night’ with Phum, we enjoyed the rest of the night with Phum’s Temple Fair and Softly Spoken, with a shoutout to the Forrest Gump-inspired tune. The Day 2 crowd which seemed to be an older and passionate demographic continued dancing and grooving to his songs.
The riffs were warm and enjoyable, and it was comfortable to watch the harmonious band playing off each other. There were lots of energy and no awkwardness even though it was the bassist’s first time performing overseas with the band!
(The keyboardist was my personal favourite – pure talent!)
Phum switched it up to more upbeat vibes with Hello, Anxiety. And the one song that everyone had been waiting for – Lover Boy!
Lover Boy was THE song that got me hooked when he was spotlit by music label 88rising. They even released a remix of this song back then.
He ended the set on a sentimental note with Long Gone, and Welcome Change. Speaking of welcoming change, he shared that being on tour always meant that they had to eat quick and instant meals, but he was glad to be able to eat some laksa and chicken rice.
You are always welcomed here, Phum!
EATMEPOPTART
Eatmepoptart has been around for a long time since 2004 and has been gaining popularity for playing the classics in a DJ set.
They are known for a pop and rock playlist, and the crowd was jumping and dancing along and know the songs by heart.
It was so fun to have heard Paramore and Lizzo in one playlist?!
Overall, Trifecta Music Festival is a great addition to the vibrant music scene in Singapore, and it was pretty cool seeing all popular musicians up close.
Thank you to Scape & Trifecta for the giveaway!
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