Quiet live music cafe in Vinh city

Memories of live music cafe

A live music space at a Vinh coffee shop. Photo: CSCC

There was a time in Vinh City when the "coffee shops with singing" flourished quite lively. The names "Thanh Nien" (Vinh market area), Tuan Euro (Provincial Labor Culture House) "Young Fashion" in the 6-way intersection area in the years 96-99 were associated with a part of the youth of generations 7x, 8x... Enjoying drinks, listening to singing, and having the opportunity to express your personal voice - the "3 in 1" model is the attraction of coffee shops - tea rooms. Only born a short time after big cities like Saigon, Hanoi, live music coffee was a trendy choice for young people at that time. When they first appeared, the above shops were full every night.

After the wave of the late 1990s, a number of coffee shops sprung up, but they disbanded shortly after. In the early 2000s, Caligo (initially on Le Hong Phong Street, later moved to Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street), Fill (Dinh Cong Trang Street), Sonata (Labor Club yard) appeared... creating a new breeze for the spiritual life of young people. However, they lasted no more than 5 years at most, and these live music coffee shops also closed, leaving behind regrets when remembering a period of youth for many generations of U30-U40 today.

Play music for passion

A coffee band in Vinh city. Photo: CSCC

Once so popular, but now, finding a space where the audience can "float" with music is very difficult. Recently, on a group specializing in reviewing Vinh cuisine called "CBMM", there was a topic that attracted many young people to comment, which was where to listen to live music. Many opinions admitted that, in Vinh, if you want to find a drinking place, it is extremely easy, there are also many coffee shops, but coffee shops that combine live music performances are extremely rare.

A coffee shop invites a famous singer to serve the audience. Photo: CSCC

Belonging to the “first generation” of 8x, Ms. Quynh Huong in Truong Thi ward (Vinh city) said that she recently had a friend from far away come to visit. “After a tour of the city at night, we wanted to find a smoke-free space, just to enjoy music, but we could only find one place...”. She added: “Vinh people love music as much as anyone else. But it seems that there are few spaces to enjoy “live music”. If Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Lat always have many vibrant music venues, Vinh people have to search the whole city to find a few places to enjoy.”

The music cafe that Quynh Huong mentioned is owned by Mr. Ho Bach Tuan. Coming from a music academy, before being a cafe owner, Mr. Tuan used to play the keyboard in many live music cafes in Vinh City. Witnessing the birth and closure of many cafes, he still decided to create a separate playground for himself and his fellow musicians who are truly passionate and dedicated. His live music cafe was born, as a cute affirmation of the local, stubborn "quality" of "people 37". Tuan said: “Actually, I initially opened the bar to have a place to play music because of the passion of my brothers. Luckily, we have been together for the past 6 years. The solidarity of the band brothers has created a unique musical style, suitable for civil servants, public employees, and office workers who are no longer young, but not old (U40, U50). Those are the audiences who have been with my bar since the early days. The band of the bar has also “aged” along with its audience. Our music is now softer and deeper than before.”

Struggling to keep customers

The cafe is packed during a music event. Photo: CSCC

Without a steady audience every night like Tuan's, some small live music cafes in the city are still struggling to retain and develop customers, because there is no steady band, especially singers, so music shows cannot be organized regularly, but are only considered a highlight for the audience to occasionally interact with each other. The cafe mainly gets its revenue from drinks, with no surcharge or insignificant surcharge.

Talking about this, Mr. Tuan also shared: For a live music cafe to survive, many factors are needed, of which quality is the number 1 priority. The band (including the singer) needs to be fixed and have its own style. If the singer performs in many places, then the cafes will be similar to each other and will not create a difference. Therefore, even during the epidemic, he still pays the band, so that they stay with him for a long time. Minimizing the staff as much as possible, the band members are all very "multi-talented". Guitarist Hoang Tuan plays and sings rock very passionately, or the Keyboard artist can sing backing vocals and also MC... Currently, Mr. Tuan's cafe does not sell entrance tickets, but drinks are 30,000-40,000 VND/cup higher than other places.

Not only low cost, good band, beautiful view... but the restaurant also has to grasp the audience's taste which always loves new things. Therefore, Tuan's restaurant also finds every way to invite stars, famous singers to perform to attract the audience. Most recently, at the end of 2022, the restaurant organized 2 shows with 2 male singers, Tuan Hung and Dinh Manh Ninh. Before that, singer Ha Le or the band Uoc Mo Xanh... “Most singers come to perform because of their feelings, and their pay is not like other places. When there is a show, we give all the money we earn to the singer. With the lowest show price being 500,000 VND, the highest show price is from 800,000 to 2 million VND (depending on the seat position), it is still a difficult ticket price to sell in the music market of Vinh city. Unfortunately, singers can earn less in other places, but lowering the ticket price is something the management company does not agree with, because it is also the prestige and reputation of the singer. Although we have to put in a lot of effort, but “profiting from only feelings” we are also very happy” - Mr. Ho Bach Tuan said.

Talking about trends is talking about a period. It can be seen that this is a period when the entertainment needs of Vinh City residents are growing. The only thing is, after the passion and big investments, will these music cafes last long? No one knows yet, but it must be affirmed that this is a healthy place for entertainment, relaxation, and dating for everyone. In the flow of its vibrant life, live music cafes are a highlight, making the cultural and entertainment picture more vivid for the city's residents. And certainly, those cafes are the beautiful youth of the future Gen Z generations.