This year's festival deepens its commitment to artistic exchange through KEXP, KOREA SPOTLIGHT, and new cross-cultural initiatives
AXEAN Festival has released the second wave of artists joining this year’s edition. The latest announcement brings together a diverse and eclectic mix of acclaimed, established, and emerging acts from Asia and beyond.
Staying true to the festival’s vision of showcasing the breadth and depth of today’s global music landscape, the latest batch of artists represents an expansive spectrum of genres: from indie rock to alternative pop, electronic jazz to soul, hip-hop to progressive rock, experimental to modern MOR, dream pop to contemporary Asian sounds.
Wave two lineup
Joining the roster are Aelea (Indonesia), Arivu (India/TuneCore India Showcase), Basboi (Indonesia), Bishnu Paneru (Philippines), brkfstblend (Japan), Cactus Cactus (Singapore), can't be Blue (South Korea), Ciggarats (Vietnam), Clever Moose (Indonesia), Crystal Murray (France/United States), D’MASIV (Indonesia), Drizzly (Indonesia), El Karmoya (Indonesia), Emptyyy (Indonesia), Feral Stripes (Indonesia), GEE EXCLSV (Philippines), Gavendri (Indonesia), GENIUS Flow (Laos), Given (Indonesia), hailinhtasm (Vietnam), Laze and Mardial (Indonesia), Littlefingers (Indonesia), Litty (Japan), Mayu (Japan), MRCH (South Korea), Nerd Connection (South Korea), Olsam (Indonesia), Silly Silky (South Korea), and YuuHai (Cambodia).
Collectively, this year’s roster reinforces AXEAN Festival’s longstanding commitment to championing musical discovery while creating valuable opportunities for cultural exchange, regional connectivity, and international collaboration. Beyond its showcase performances, AXEAN Festival continues to develop programs, conversations, and initiatives that address the most pressing issues that affect or shape the region’s music ecosystem.
AXEAN Festival co-founder David Siow adds, “Every year there are new developments in each Southeast Asian music scene—be it new artists, new movements, new companies, or even new geopolitics. We strive to address and serve as a bridge, connecting the relevant artists and delegates to each other and allowing for them to meet each other and form organic relationships, all in the hopes that we can build a better future together. If you come to AXEAN Festival, you are tapping into a community that grows and builds with you.”
Live on KEXP makes its Asian debut at AXEAN Festival
Among this year’s key milestones is the landmark partnership with KEXP, the internationally renowned Seattle-based public radio station and music platform celebrated for championing independent artists worldwide.
For the first time ever, Live on KEXP will record in Asia, with select artists performing exclusive live sessions during the AXEAN Festival. The collaboration represents an important step forward in increasing the global visibility of Southeast Asian independent music.
“KEXP exists to help artists reach a global audience,” shares Chris Sanley, Executive Producer of Live on KEXP. “While we live in a world that makes it easy for us to connect online, we know there are significant barriers keeping artists from coming to our studio in Seattle to record a Live on KEXP session. For nearly two decades we’ve been sending our team to international music-centered events to record live performances with artists from outside the US, anchored by the idea of going to the music rather than waiting for it to come to us. Diana’s work on our radio show, Eastern Echoes, and her commitment to showcasing and highlighting independent artists from Asia, inspired us to bring Live on KEXP to the Asian continent for the first time.”
For Diana Ratsamee, host of KEXP’s Eastern Echoes, the partnership offers an opportunity to reshape how the world experiences Asian music. “In American and international media, our stories have long been underrepresented and our music boxed into narrow definitions and expectations. KEXP’s show, Eastern Echoes exists to reflect the incredible breadth of sounds that make up our Asian communities, and this partnership with AXEAN Festival will expand on that work in amazing ways.”
KOREA SPOTLIGHT partnership
AXEAN Festival also welcomes KOREA SPOTLIGHT, the flagship K-Music showcase presented by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST), and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).
Since its launch in 2017, KOREA SPOTLIGHT has introduced outstanding Korean artists to audiences around the world. This year’s delegation is particularly significant, as it features four artists who all emerged from MUSE ON, KOCCA’s artist discovery and development program for promising new musicians.
Making their Indonesian debut, can’t be blue, MRCH. Nerd Connection, and Silly Silky will perform not only as part of AXEAN Festival’s showcase program but also at a dedicated KOREA SPOTLIGHT showcase in Jakarta.
SEA URBAN: Putting a spotlight on Southeast Asia’s thriving hip-hop/R&B movement
Further expanding its programming, AXEAN Festival 2026 introduces SEA URBAN—a new platform dedicated to Southeast Asian hip-hop, rap, R&B, and contemporary urban music.
The initiative combines a curated showcase featuring some of the region’s most exciting urban artists with an accompanying industry panel examining the genre’s rapid growth, evolving identity, and increasing global impact.
“Hip-hop sits in an interesting place: it's mainstream, trendy, and fashionable, but it also carries real weight because it resonates with the struggles of urban youth,” AXEAN Festival co-founder Piyapong Muenprasertdee reveals. “What sets Southeast Asian hip-hop apart is that each scene is shaped by where it came from, with artists weaving traditional sounds into their beats—which makes every country's scene distinct and worth the world discovering. That's why the showcase and panel matter: these scenes have mostly grown on their own, and putting them on a shared regional stage is how we help these voices travel further and collaborate across borders.”
AXEAN Festival 2026 is co-presented by Jimbaran Hub (venue partner) and TuneCore (main stage sponsor), in partnership with EMPIRE (stage sponsor); Embassy of France in Indonesia & Institut Francais Indonesia, Embassy of France in Singapour, Centre National de la Musique, Institut Français, KEXP, KOREA SPOTLIGHT, Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea (festival partners); The Orchard (VIP partner); MADVERSE (songwriting camp primary sponsor); KSR (songwriting camp secondary sponsor); Musicway (songwriting camp secondary sponsor); Sounds Australia (music exchange partner); Symphonic Distribution (panel partner); PERMATA BANK (supporting partner), DEBEAT Sunset Road; and Millers Records (equipment partners).
About AXEAN Festival
AXEAN Festival is a prominent Southeast Asian music export platform, combining a music conference and showcase festival.
Launched in 2020 during the pandemic by music professionals across Southeast Asia, AXEAN Festival has successfully hosted both virtual (2020-2021) and in-person (2022-2025) events. Over six editions, it has featured 200 artists from 20 countries and secured close to 200 opportunities for them, attracted 420 delegates from 32 countries, and reached over 46,000 virtual viewers, along with close to 18,000 live attendees.
With its growing international reputation, AXEAN has firmly established itself as Southeast Asia’s leading music export platform. Its first venture into a new market beyond its original home base in Singapore and Bali garnered widespread acclaim among attendees, music industry professionals, and participating artists.
