What are you doing at 8pm?
That is the question posed by the team behind 8 the Theatre, a group of young Vietnamese who want to bring different styles of music — particularly jazz — to their peers. As they say, 8pm is "the time when the fun starts, the beginning of an awesome show."
At a Jazzis concert in Saigon.
"8 the Theatre starts from the dream of building up an art theatre for the young artists and young audiences in Vietnam," Bui Duy Quang, one of the co-founders, told Saigoneer. "We would like to appreciate the value of hard-working, professional practices, and the passion for exploring and achieving new, high-quality ideas and concepts of young artists instead of becoming mainstream idols. In our theatre, we would like to introduce to the audience high-quality concerts instead of normal entertainment shows."
Since launching in 2020, 8 the Theatre has held four performances in Saigon and Hanoi, including two under their Jazzis project. The Jazzis group features 10 artists. An example of their work can be seen in this performance of 'Joy Spring' by Mỹ Anh & The Red Eyes Band, which has been very well-received since being posted on March 25.
Courtesy of 8 the Theatre's YouTube page.
"Our mission is to build up the habits for the mass audience to enjoy high-quality music and art concerts every weekend," Quang added. "8 the Theatre will become the first choice when they want to find the ideal place for them."
The poster for the upcoming concert.
As with an artistic endeavor, particularly one in its early stages, Quang and his team have faced their fair share of challenges: "We are facing up difficulties such as budget and venues for performances as well as daily practice. Our human resources are still young, with less experience. It is very challenging for us to organize big-scale concerts, as well as to run multiple projects at the same time."
Vocalist Dattie Do.
However, they have gotten great feedback on their performances, and their videos have done well too.
Saigoneers, meanwhile, are fortunate to have the opportunity to see 8 the Theatre's latest show, Jazzis Concert #3: Night & Day, at 8pm this Saturday and Sunday at the VOH Music One Theatre in District 1. Performers include Mỹ Anh, The Red Eyes Band, saxopohonist An Tran and singer Dattie Do.
Saxophonist An Tran.
"In short, this is one of the first times we are highlighting our work from online to offline. Audiences also have the opportunity to enjoy the contradiction of classical jazz and modern jazz performed by the most talented young artists in Vietnam."
