The last Good Vibes was in 2019 featuring headlining acts 6LACK, Sabrina Claudio, Mura Masa, Nothing But Thieves, Russ, Cigarettes After Sex and more. The 2019 edition welcomed so many music fans… that Genting felt a tad bit warm (coincidence? Maybe).
After losing our voices from the hours-long singalongs, we intend to wrap up the celebrations with five key things we learned from this year’s Good Vibes Weekender.
Sunway Lagoon is still a strategic location for concerts and festivals
Aside from the musical acts, Good Vibes Festival was known for the breezy and cool weather too. This is due to its location, high up the highlands of Genting, or Gohtong Jaya to be exact. It felt like GV has already claimed residency there after a few years of action-packed festivals. However, Good Vibes Weekender is a slightly different version from the Festival, so it makes sense to do it elsewhere.
Personally, Sunway Lagoon’s Surf Beach is an ideal location for concerts. Once upon a time, the makeshift venue held a number of MTV World Stage events in the early to mid-2010s featuring the likes of Justin Bieber, Kara, All American Rejects, Hoobastank, Katy Perry and more.
Aside from its size which can probably fit tens of thousands on its grounds, Sunway Lagoon also has a nice, beach vibe to it. Toilets were not a problem, various food stalls at your disposal, Sunway Pyramid only more or less one kilometre away, why not enjoy a festival comfortably and with ease, right?
Local performers on par with international ones
For obvious reasons, most Good Vibes’ attendees came for their favourite idols and bands, in this case; CL, Jackson Wang, Pink Sweat and more. However, the organizers did a great job in curating the lineup as a number of credible local performers were included for both days of the festival.
First day gooers saw the likes of Alex Ungku open the stage with his collection of R&B tunes, followed by Claudia and Asyraf Nasir with their disco boots. Midnight Fusic brought out the big guns with appearances by LUNADIRA and Lil Asian Thiccie and Dolla got the crowd roaring for a good time.
Malaysian performers also brought the groove to Surf Beach’s shores on the 2nd day. Peachskins tore the stage apart with ‘Platform Heels’, Late Night Frequency with their full disco getup entertaining fans with cameos from Aiman Nomad, Ichu and Radhi OAG while Leaism showed the magnitude of her vocals during her set.
Having also seen the likes of Masdo, Noh Salleh and more conquering the stages of GVF in recent years shows that their local music curation has always been spot on and the artists, given the spotlight and platform, looked comfortable performing in front of thousands. Malaysia is blessed with great talents and we’re here to see them flourish!
KPOP dominates yet again
KPOP dominated world music since the 2010s and doesn’t not look like slowing down anytime soon. Back when GOT7 and 2NE1 were the primary rockstars, you’d expect K-fans to go wild if their idols were slated to play in Kuala Lumpur. 10 or more years since the height of their popularity, the main stars of the groups, Jackson Wang and CL, show up without their respective groups and still managed to draw the attention of many.
When we say many, we mean almost the majority of the fans who came down Sunway Lagoon last weekend. Jackson Wang fans ran from the entrance to the Surf Beach like the speed of light as soon as door opened (we even saw a few them tripped and fell).
But can you blame them? Both Jackson Wang and CL produced world-class performances at the festival in front of thousands.
P/S: On a side note, we still can’t believe Jackson Wang wanted to go for a mamak session but ended up at Six Bangsar instead.
@frebrikkker7 partying with Jackson & his crew is a whole new experience ? hungover from the shots that Jackson gave can’t feel any better ? #jacksonwang ♬ original sound - frebrikkker
Interest in live entertainment on a high
To be frank, ‘on a high’ is a great understatement. There was at least six gigs that weekend alone, with names like Aman Ra and Kyoto Protocol played other events around town, followed by farewell shows and other musical attractions. It seems like Malaysians are having the time of their life after the pandemic as gigs and concerts grew in numbers.
Hopefully the giggoing trend continues so we can watch many more local and international artists on big stages.
The Good Vibes are here to stay
Despite having less artists and headliners than they did in the past few years, Good Vibes still drew a humongous crowd. How big? Big enough to cause a bigger traffic disruption in an already popular and massive congestion near Sunway Pyramid. Looking at the encouraging response, it’ll be no surprise if Good Vibes returns with a festival in the highlands again next year with a bigger lineup.
Who do you think should feature on the next Good Vibes Festival’s lineup? Share this article and tell us your thoughts!