Acoustic
6E Ngo Thoi Nhiem, Q3
Tel: 3930 2239
7pm until late
Though only 1km from the heavily touristic downtown area, Acoustic is well off most foreigner’s radars. The all-Vietnamese house band performs every night, playing mostly western covers, and the space is perpetually jammed with young locals either bopping away in the crowd or getting up on stage. Known for being notoriously busy at the weekends, arrive by 7.30pm to stand any chance of getting a seat. Those with a love for heartfelt rock balladry and heavy rock n’ roll should check this place out on Friday nights. Has occasional guest bands from overseas.
Bar Bui
39/2 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3. Tel: 3824 1963
lodgebui@gmail.com
10am to 12am
Also known as Dust Lodge, Bar Bui resembles Seventeen Saloon with its red and blue neon lighting, bricked walls, wooden roof, columns and beams. It hosts live flamenco and country music every night from 8.30pm courtesy of three Filipino house bands.
Bootleg DJ Café
9 Le Thanh Ton, Q1
8am to 1am
This sleekly designed café morphs into a trendy live music nightspot with a selection of resident and guest DJs to be found behind the Sarato-programmed decks. Expect a multitude of electronic sounds, from deep and liquid house to lounge, disco, chill out, hip-hop and a bevy of instrumentals you’ve heard before but can’t quite put your finger on.
Cacophony
57H Tu Xuong, Q3. Tel: 3932 2797
9am to 11pm
This unique establishment sets itself apart from other live music venues in Saigon as the city’s first 3D-themed café. Each floor of this French-colonial three-storey villa has been designed as a homage to both Sagionese and Hanoian street café culture. The ground floor is where the live music happens every Wednesday to Sunday from 9pm to 11pm with pop, rock and country sets performed by the growing plethora of local bands.
Carmen
8 Ly Tu Trong, Q1. Tel: 3829 7699
6pm to 1am
The inspiration for Carmen is the popular opera named, naturally, Carmen. In place of European leads are the musical talents of a local band as well as Filipino and Vietnamese lead singers crooning to Latin beats. As if being a venue built on Flamenco music was not enough to stand out in Saigon, it further differentiates itself with a cabin-like exterior, steep stairs, a small cavernous-type entrance and an interior highlighted by rough rock walls, wood beams and candle-lit beer keg tables.
Jardin d’Amour
8Bis Nguyen Van Trang, Q1. Tel: 6679 2406
9am to 11pm
A quirky, French-style café with a subdued and relaxing atmosphere. Each evening from 8.30pm the self-titled ‘Garden of Love’ houses live music with different themes such as Tien Chien Night (pre-war Vietnamese music), International Covers Night and Lovers Night. The stage is a quaint miniature theatre-style set up with white picket fencing and a painted backdrop of a garden positioned next to a tiny raised balcony where a pianist serenades customers every Monday night. Romantic ballads can be heard every Tuesday and rock every Friday.
La Habana
6 Cao Ba Quat, Q1
Tel: 3829 5180
www.lahabana-saigon.com
Saigon cover band stalwarts Carmen & Brothers play an eclectic selection of well known hits by the likes of Michael Jackson, Leona Lewis and Bon Jovi every night of the week except Mondays. The music usually starts at 9pm but arrive early to ensure prime seating in the lounge.
Metallic Bar
41 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Q3. Tel: 3930 3154
www.metallicbar.com
9pm to 1am
A popular destination for both locals and foreigners with a hankering for live rock music and a totally smoke-free atmosphere, Metallic Bar is one of Saigon’s most established live music venues. Longtime house band, The Yellow, a host of Filipino singers and numerous local Vietnamese bands can be seen rocking out to ferocious covers of Metallica, Guns N Roses and CCR on a nightly basis between 9pm and 12am before a DJ takes to the decks to perform a selection of contemporary dance, hip hop and r n’ b tunes through to the early hours.
Napoly Bar
7 Pham Ngoc Thanh, Q3
Tel: 3829 0583
www.napolybar.com
7pm until 12am
Named after the famed southern Italian city, the ground floor seating of this popular and somewhat upscale café looks and feels like it came straight out of Italy itself. The upstairs bar in the back is the place to catch local Vietnamese band Quoc Anh play classic 1980s hits every night from 9pm to midnight.
Level 23 Nightspot
23rd Floor, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, Q1
Tel: 3827 2828
www.sheraton.com/saigon
7pm till late Tuesday to Sunday
One of Saigon’s chicest venues with some of the most awe-inspiring views of the city, this hotel bar offers nightly live music (except on Mondays) from 9pm courtesy of the multinational sextet Motion. Expect a bit of everything from r&b, dance and jazz to hip-hop, rap and rock.
Pacharan
97 Hai Ba Trung, Q1
Tel: 3825 6024
9am to midnight
Wednesdays and Fridays are the nights to catch local favourites such as cover band circuit legend Juram, and latin pop group Warapo. Juram is known for his gravel-voiced versions of anthems by Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Metallica, while Warapo serve up a very physical offering live and exotic Cuban salsa music.
RockFanClub Bar
25C Tu Xuong, Q3
Formerly Tadao Coffee Bar, the promoters behind RockFanClub, the long-running underground Vietnamese hard rock and metal night, have moved in, finally giving the city’s moshers a home of their own. Local hard rock and metal bands can be found playing every night of the week from around 9pm at this tiny yet comfortable and cool venue.
Saigon Saigon Bar
9th Floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Som Square, Q1. Tel: 3823 4999
www.caravellehotel.com
11am to 2am
Cuban bands are a mainstay at this outdoor bar with salsa band Warapo providing a musical melting pot of South American rhythms every Tuesday as part of the hotel’s Havana Ladies Night, while the six-piece Luna Negra like to mix it up with salsa, bachata and merengue on Wednesdays through to Mondays. Both bands start at 9pm.
Sax N’ Art Jazz Club
28 Le Loi, Q1
Tel: 3822 8472
www.saxnart.com
5pm to 12am
Unique renditions of classic jazz compositions by the likes of Miles
Davies, John Coltrane and Charlie
Parker can be heard from 9pm until midnight daily at this non-smoking establishment. Saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan and the Sax N’ Art house band regularly performs a unique blend of contemporary jazz and blues mixed with central highlands Vietnamese
influences in this cosy, brick-walled bohemian boîte.
Seventeen Saloon
103A Pham Ngu Lao, Q1
Tel: 3914 0007
www.seventeensaloon.co.vn
7pm until late
A favourite among both Vietnamese and foreigners alike, this Wild West-themed bar doubles up as a great live music venue with no less than three highly talented Filipino cover bands rocking out nightly. B & U, Wild West and Most Wanted impressively belt out like-for-like hits by rock staples such as Bon Jovi, U2 and Guns n’ Roses’ while pumping Vietnamese techno blasts out of the speakers in between sets.
Sheridan’s Irish House
17/13 Le Thanh Ton, Q1
Tel: 3823 0793
www.sheridansbarvn.com
9am to 12am
Those in search for a sound of the familiar will find solace at one of Saigon’s longest running bars. A different cover band gets up every night of the week (except Mondays) at this pub-like Celtic establishment. Celtic Band knock out jovial Irish ditties on Tuesdays; the classic rock power of Risky Red and Mr. Bo can be heard on Wednesdays and Fridays; Wonderluster play pop hits on Thursdays, and rollicking Japanese blues group, 12 Bar Blues take over on the weekends.
Universal Bar & Café
90 Bui Vien, Pham Ngu Lao, Q1
www.facebook.com/universalbarsaigon
universalbarsaigon@gmail.com
12pm to late
Located along Bui Vien’s main drag in backpacker ville, Universal Bar & Café is fast becoming known as a popular live acoustic venue. Open daily from 12pm till the small hours of the next morning, the venue’s second floor can accommodate for live sports, private parties, DJs and sales presentations thanks to its big screen, high-end sound system and multimedia facilities.
Vasco’s
74/7D Hai Ba Trung, Q1
Tel: 3824 2888
4pm to 12am (weekdays). Open late on weekends.
With two rooms set up to cater to
bands and DJs (Yellow Room & Blue Room), Vasco’s is one of Saigon’s
most prominent live music venues. Catering mainly to the musical tastes of muso expats, the likes of DJ Premier,
Free The Robots, Handsome Furs and
Daedelus have headlined this former opium den. Local DJs such as Jordan Howard and DJ Jase regularly put on
nights with hip-hop, dubstep, drum n’ bass, reggae and dance firmly on rotation. Local expat latin-punk band Bad Neighbour also plays on most Friday nights.
Yoko
22A Nguyen Thi Dieu, Q3
Tel: 3933 0577
8am until late
As the name suggests, John Lennon's wife inspired the name of this excellent bar. Refurbished and expanded in 2011, Yoko is undoubtedly one of the coolest and most unique venues in Saigon, hosting live music nightly from some of the city's best local musicians and bands, including 6789, Microwave and Coconuts. Expect classic rock, jazz, funk, country, metal, grunge, blues and everything else in-between. An unmissable destination for grassroots and underground music lovers.
Acoustic
6E Ngo Thoi Nhiem, Q3
Tel: 3930 2239
7pm until late
Though only 1km from the heavily touristic downtown area, Acoustic is well off most foreigner’s radars. The all-Vietnamese house band performs every night, playing mostly western covers, and the space is perpetually jammed with young locals either bopping away in the crowd or getting up on stage. Known for being notoriously busy at the weekends, arrive by 7.30pm to stand any chance of getting a seat. Those with a love for heartfelt rock balladry and heavy rock n’ roll should check this place out on Friday nights. Has occasional guest bands from overseas.
Bar Bui
39/2 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3
Tel: 3824 1963
lodgebui@gmail.com
10am to 12am
Also known as Dust Lodge, Bar Bui resembles Seventeen Saloon with its red and blue neon lighting, bricked walls, wooden roof, columns and beams. It hosts live flamenco and country music every night from 8.30pm courtesy of three Filipino house bands.
Bootleg DJ Café
9 Le Thanh Ton, Q1
8am to 1am
This sleekly designed café morphs into a trendy live music nightspot with a selection of resident and guest DJs to be found behind the Sarato-programmed decks. Expect a multitude of electronic sounds, from deep and liquid house to lounge, disco, chill out, hip-hop and a bevy of instrumentals you’ve heard before but can’t quite put your finger on.
Cacophony
57H Tu Xuong, Q3
Tel: 3932 2797
9am to 11pm
This unique establishment sets itself apart from other live music venues in Saigon as the city’s first 3D-themed café. Each floor of this French-colonial three-storey villa has been designed as a homage to both Sagionese and Hanoian street café culture. The ground floor is where the live music happens every Wednesday to Sunday from 9pm to 11pm with pop, rock and country sets performed by the growing plethora of local bands.
Carmen
8 Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: 3829 7699
6pm to 1am
The inspiration for Carmen is the popular opera named, naturally, Carmen. In place of European leads are the musical talents of a local band as well as Filipino and Vietnamese lead singers crooning to Latin beats. As if being a venue built on Flamenco music was not enough to stand out in Saigon, it further differentiates itself with a cabin-like exterior, steep stairs, a small cavernous-type entrance and an interior highlighted by rough rock walls, wood beams and candle-lit beer keg tables.
The Factory
102 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel: 3823 8102
8pm until late
Designed as a European industrial processing plant (huge fans, bright yellow pipes, road signs and metal drums), The Factory is the second offering from the team behind Acoustic. In the footsteps of its predecessor, The Factory churns out live music, albeit in a much clubbier environment with some of the city’s top hip-hop DJs also performing every night from 9pm to 2am.
Hard Rock Café
39 Le Duan, Q1. Tel: 6291 7505
11am to 12am
The Saigon branch of this world famous franchise remains faithful to the Hard Rock aesthetic with a fascinating selection of rock memorabilia hanging on the walls as non-stop rock hits play on numerous LCD televisions.Filipino house band, Sound On Fire, deliver crushingly precise versions of hits by Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Nirvana from Wednesday to Sunday at 9pm every week.
Jardin d’Amour
8Bis Nguyen Van Trang, Q1. Tel: 6679 2406
9am to 11pm
A quirky, French-style café with a subdued and relaxing atmosphere. Each evening from 8.30pm the self-titled ‘Garden of Love’ houses live music with different themes such as Tien Chien Night (pre-war Vietnamese music), International Covers Night and Lovers Night. The stage is a quaint miniature theatre-style set up with white picket fencing and a painted backdrop of a garden positioned next to a tiny raised balcony where a pianist serenades customers every Monday night. Romantic ballads can be heard every Tuesday and rock every Friday.
Metallic Bar
41 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Q3. Tel: 3930 3154
9pm to 1am
A popular destination for both locals and foreigners with a hankering for live rock music and a totally smoke-free atmosphere, Metallic Bar is one of Saigon’s most established live music venues. Longtime house band, The Yellow, a host of Filipino singers and numerous local Vietnamese bands can be seen rocking out to ferocious covers of Metallica, Guns N Roses and CCR on a nightly basis between 9pm and 12am before a DJ takes to the decks to perform a selection of contemporary dance, hip hop and r n’ b tunes through to the early hours.
Napoly Bar
7 Pham Ngoc Thanh, Q3. Tel: 3829 0583
7pm until 12am
Named after the famed southern Italian city, the ground floor seating of this popular and somewhat upscale café looks and feels like it came straight out of Italy itself. The upstairs bar in the back is the place to catch local Vietnamese band Quoc Anh play classic 1980s hits every night from 9pm to midnight.
Nightspot
23rd Floor, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: 3827 2828
7pm to midnight (weekdays). Open late on weekends.
One of the chicest venues in the city, this hotel bar offers nightly live music courtesy of the six-piece Transit band and Filipino group Sound On Fire. As the name implies, Transit play a range of Top 40 hits across the spectrum of popular music every Tuesday to Sunday from 8.45pm until 11.45pm (1am at weekends), while the usually heavy-rock inclined Sound On Fire tap into their Latin-dance side every Monday night from 8.45pm until just before midnight.
Pacharan
97 Hai Ba Trung, Q1. Tel: 3825 6024
9am to midnight
Wednesdays and Fridays are the nights to catch local favourites such as cover band circuit legend Juram, and latin pop group Warapo. Juram is known for his gravel-voiced versions of anthems by Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Metallica, while Warapo serve up a very physical offering live and exotic Cuban salsa music.
RockFanClub Bar
25C Tu Xuong, Q3
Formerly Tadao Coffee Bar, the promoters behind RockFanClub, the long-running underground Vietnamese hard rock and metal night, have moved in, finally giving the city’s moshers a home of their own. Local hard rock and metal bands can be found playing every night of the week from around 9pm at this tiny yet comfortable and cool venue.
Saigon Saigon Bar
9th Floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Som Square, Q1. Tel: 3823 4999
11am to 2am
Cuban bands are a mainstay at this outdoor bar with salsa band Warapo providing a musical melting pot of South American rhythms every Tuesday as part of the hotel’s Havana Ladies Night, while the six-piece Luna Negra like to mix it up with salsa, bachata and merengue on Wednesdays through to Mondays. Both bands start at 9pm.
Sax N’ Art Jazz Club
28 Le Loi, Q1. Tel: 3822 8472
5pm to 12am
Unique renditions of classic jazz compositions by the likes of Miles Davies, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker can be heard from 9pm until midnight daily at this non-smoking establishment. Saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan and the Sax N’ Art house band regularly performs a unique blend of contemporary jazz and blues mixed with central highlands Vietnamese influences in this cosy, brick-walled bohemian boîte.
Seventeen Saloon
103A Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, Tel: 3914 0007
7pm until late
A favourite among both Vietnamese and foreigners alike, this Wild West-themed bar doubles up as a great live music venue with no less than three highly talented Filipino cover bands rocking out nightly. B & U, Wild West and Most Wanted impressively belt out like-for-like hits by rock staples such as Bon Jovi, U2 and Guns n’ Roses’ while pumping Vietnamese techno blasts out of the speakers in between sets.
Sheridan’s Irish House
17/13 Le Thanh Ton, Q1
Tel: 3823 0793
9am to 12am
Those in search for a sound of the familiar will find solace at one of Saigon’s longest running bars. A different cover band gets up every night of the week (except Mondays) at this pub-like Celtic establishment. Celtic Band knock out jovial Irish ditties on Tuesdays; the classic rock power of Risky Red and Mr. Bo can be heard on Wednesdays and Fridays; Wonderluster play pop hits on Thursdays, and rollicking Japanese blues group, 12 Bar Blues take over on the weekends.
Vasco’s
74/7D Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: 3824 2888
4pm to 12am (weekdays). Open late on weekends.
With two rooms set up to cater to bands and DJs (Yellow Room & Blue Room), Vasco’s is one of Saigon’s most prominent live music venues. Catering mainly to the musical tastes of muso expats, the likes of DJ Premier, Free The Robots, Handsome Furs and Daedelus have headlined this former opium den. Local DJs such as Jordan Howard and DJ Jase regularly put on nights with hip-hop, dubstep, drum n’ bass, reggae and dance firmly on rotation. Local expat latin-punk band Bad Neighbour also plays on most Friday nights.
Yoko
22A Nguyen Thi Dieu, Q3. Tel: 3933 0577
8am until late
As the name suggests, John Lennon’s infamous wife inspired the title of this excellent watering hole. Refurbished and expanded at the start of 2011, the ever-popular Yoko plays host to some of Saigon’s best local bands, including funk-rockers 6789 every Wednesday, metallers Microwave every Saturday and the irrepressible chanteuse Ngoc Thy twice weekly. Proceedings tend to kick off around 9pm with a revolving door of local musicians performing nightly amongst the comfy surrounds and walls adorned with Vietnamese art and photos of John Lennon and Kurt Cobain.