click here for an audio-visual look at the gig highlights

***for full gig listings jump to the bottom***

Greetings:

Tonight, Thursday, in Phnom Penh, the first night of the new iteration of Dr George’s jazz jam at The Deck – first a workshop and then the jam itself.  Later on Shaken Spirit are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kampot Frankie Teardrop Dead and Mr Zee are at Ariart, at M’Pai Bai Bay, Koh Rong Somleoun the last big night of Dave Fest features Alli G, Jõhatsu, Wind-Up Mice, and Bullshit Boy (Hamburg), and Oudom Kampuchea and Miss Sarawan are at The Wave: Kep West.

Friday evening in Phnom Penh, Brett Perkins is at The Box Office, Ysabel is at Botanico, Kevin Sysyn is at House of Jazz and More and Miss Sarawan is at Riverview Restaurant.  Later and louder check out Niki Buzz Band at Oscar’s on the Corner [see Passing Chords below].  In Siem Reap, Joshua Chiang & the Dancing Shoes are at Ubuntu and JamCha are at Laundry.  Brooke Palmer finishes off Dave Fest at M’Pai Bai Bay, Koh Rong Somleoun.

On Saturday in Phnom Penh, James and Anthony are at Botanico, Swing Lines (Cameron & Mr Joe) are at House of Jazz and More, and Niki Buzz Band are at Chew & Bash.  Au Marche hosts a Mariah Carey tribute with Mosaic, and Scott Bywater is at Tropico.  Bullshit Boy (Hamburg), Reign in Slumber and Johatsu are all at Hometown Hangout, and Ben Etc. is early at Oscar’s on the Corner, followed by Montra.  In Siem Reap, Carnival Youth (Latvia) and Japan Guitar Shop  at The Labyrinth.

Come Sunday, the regular Sunday Sundowners open mic is hosted by Scott Bywater at Tacos Kokopelli and Adam Marsland is at Botanico.  Later on, Shaken Spirit are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Pepperoni Monks put on a Red Hot Chilli Peppers tribute at Atlantis.

Department of New Releases etc.

Adam Marsland has released a new video for the song I Thought I Could Fly.  Well worth checking out here. 

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

Niki Buzz.  “I started playing piano when I was three years old.  My father was a boogie-woogie piano player, and my mother was a classical piano player, so in the mornings I would play classical piano with my mother, and in the evenings I would play boogie-woogie, jazz and blues with my father.   When I was 12, I formed a band called The Swinging Seven, and we went to a contest sponsored by James Brown – we won the contest and we had a chance to go into the studio with James Brown himself.  That was an incredible experience in my life.   I was also in a band called The Age of Perfection, and we opened for the female funk band A Taste of Honey and Funkadelic.  Members of The Age of Perfection went on to play with Al Green, and the guitar player is still with Al Green to this day.  About 30 miles from Louisville, Kentucky there was a town called Bardstown that had a club called 68 where I played with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.”  Niki Buzz Band, featuring local players Todd Anderson and Adam Marsland, commence their Cambodian tour this weekend – at Oscar’s on the Corner on Friday and Chew & Bash on Saturday.

Do you have a pet musical hate/pet peeve?

I don’t like musicians who are late and unprepared, and think that they can just go on stage and play anything and get away with it.  That annoys me to no end; it’s embarrassing for the band and disrespectful to the audience.

A private musical indulgence:

Playing drums.  After I playing piano at three, at nine years old I started playing drums, and actually all of the bands that I was in I was the drummer.   I did not start playing guitar until I was 27 years old.

The year you first came to Cambodia:

I first came to Cambodia in 2012.

An early music memory:

When I first started playing drums, my aunt gave me a drum set that she had bought for her son and he never played.  The heads broke so my mother thought the drums were broken and she threw them in the trash.  I will never forget that!

The last thing you had to eat:

Pastrami and eggs.

Stagefright: yes or no?

I started performing at such a young age I had no idea about stagefright. I have never experienced it.

A country you want to visit:

China.

A book or movie you keep going back to:

The Matrix, all three movies.  I could watch them over and over and over again.

What languages do you have?

English and Spanish.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:

My primary instrument is guitar and I started playing it at 27 years old.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:

I have never drink alcohol in any form, I have never smoked a cigarette or any type of weed or any drug, I have never done cocaine, heroin, or anything else.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?

The big Band of Gypsies concert at Madison Square Garden with Jimi Hendrix.

A question from the last participant :    What was the first moment in your musical journey that made you decide that you wanted to pick up an instrument or microphone and put yourself out there?

When I was three years old, and my father heard me playing Ray Charles’ What‘d I Say and he thought it was the radio.  He was so happy that his baby boy was playing piano, and from that moment I knew that was what I wanted to do.   You are put on this earth to do exactly what you want to do – too many people are doing what they are told, and too many people are doing what they think make others happy!  The only thing that matters is that you are happy and you are not causing harm to anyone everything else is completely irrelevant.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Please welcome The Wild Rover, Botanico (live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and the band Crash Boom Bang (every Wednesday at Oscar’s on the Corner) as new Friends of LengPleng. We are grateful for your support and look forward to mutually beneficial activities in the months to come.

Being a Friend of LengPleng is open to venues, acts, and even private individuals; if you value the service we provide please consider assisting us financially.   For a modest contribution ($25 for three months, $40 for six months, $75 for 12 months), you get the logo of your choice into the weekly email and onto the weekly wrap page, and an automatically click through to a page on our website for further information, photos, videos and so on – we like to think of it as an alternative to Facebook.

We also pay special attention when you have a good story for us – an upcoming event or an artist you wish to highlight.  Email gigs@lengpleng.com for further details or bail up Scoddy wherever you see him.

 

 


 

 

 

 

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Kristiāns Kosītis, bass player with Carnival Youth, rocking out at BBOX on Friday 31 October, 2025.  Find them in Siem Reap with Japan Guitar Shop at The Labyrinth on Saturday night.

 

If you wish to receive LengPleng in your inbox every Thursday please send a subscribe email to gigs@lengpleng.com.

Musicians, venues, punters:  if there are things you know that LengPleng should know, please tell us and we’ll do our best to tell the world.

See you around the traps.
your correspondent,

 

 

Guillermo Wheremount
LengPleng.com
gigs@lengpleng.com (mailto:gigs@lengpleng.com)

 

Weekly Gig Guide – week commencing Thursday 6 November 2025

** residency/weekly

For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

 

Thursday

 

Friday

 

Saturday                                                             

 

Sunday

 

Monday

 

Tuesday

 

Wednesday

*Note that Wednesday events are often not announced until early in the week – check back here for updates*

Coming soon:

 

Friday 14 November

  • Phnom Penh International Music Festival 2025 – Piano Music in European Salons, 7 pm, Raffles Le Royal – note ticketed event
  • The Malo Brothers, 7 pm, Botanico
  • Indie Rawk Fest Vol. 2 with Bullshit Boy (Hamburg), Left Hand Drive (Singapore), Soselo Summer and Jõhatsu, 8.30 pm, Oscar’s on the Corner
  • Niki Buzz Band, 9.30 pm, Hometown Hangout

 

Saturday 15 November

  • Daro, Kosal Khiev, Bustaka Band, Mute Speaker and Matsamura Fishworks, 4 pm, Tittibugs
  • Brass on the Block, 7 pm, Chew & Bash
  • Phnom Penh International Music Festival 2025 – Piano Music in European Salons, 7 pm, Raffles Le Royal – note ticketed event
  • Cambodia Soundbase, 7 pm, Botanico
  • Rainy Season, 7 pm, Sojourner House (Siem Reap)
  • Left Hand Drive(SG) plus Drunk on Champagne, 7.30 pm, Noisy Chili
  • Brett Perkins, 8 pm, Oscar’s on the Corner
  • Bullshit Boy (Hamburg) plus Jõhatsu, 8 pm, Atlantis (Siem Reap) – $5 entry
  • The Riverside Kings, 10 pm, Oscar’s on the Corner

 

Sunday 16 November

  • Phnom Penh International Music Festival 2025 – Piano Music in European Salons, 7 pm, Raffles Le Royal – note ticketed event

 

Sunday 16 – Sunday 22 November

 

Tuesday 18 November

 

Friday 21 November

 

Saturday 22 November

 

Sunday 23 November

  • The Garden Trio (Sharon, Mariko and Mayumi), 3 pm, Le Point
  • Open mic, 6.30 pm, Nomad Eatery (Siem Reap)

 

Sunday 23 – Sunday 30 November

 

Saturday 29 November

 

Saturday 6 December

 

By Weekly Wrap