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

Tonight, Thursday, in Phnom Penh, the Dr George hosts a jam workshop at The Deck before the big and now weekly jazz jam.  Elsewhere Mr Joe is at House of Jazz and More, The Extraordinary Chambers at Oscar’s on the Corner and Adam Marsland is at The Silk Route.  On the coast, Randy Cataluna is at The Bay in Kampot.

Starting on Friday and heading through to Sunday in Phnom Penh is the International Music Festival 2025 – Piano Music in European Salons at Raffles Le Royal – see the feature below.

Also in Phnom Penh on Friday, in a more rock’n’roll vein, Rockustic are at Villa Grange, Greg Beshers at The Vine, The Malo Brothers are at Botanico and Miss Sarawan are at Riverview Restaurant.  William Rosas is followed by Kevin Sysyn at House of Jazz and More, while Cameron Smith participates in a Chet Baker tribute followed by screening of Let’s Get Lost at Meta House.  Noel Woodrow is at The Tin Hat, The Broken Cymbal are at Khmer Funk Sky Bar and the Niki Buzz Band are at Hometown Hangout  while the Indie Rawk Fest Vol. 2 with Bullshit Boy (Hamburg), Left Hand Drive (Singapore), Soselo Summer, Drunk on Champagne and Johatsu is on at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kampot the Jampot open mic at Karma Traders is hosted by Laura Wyatt.

Saturday afternoon in Phnom Penh, Niki Buzz Band are at The Deck, and Daro, Kosal Khiev, Bustaka Band, Mute Speaker and Matsamura Fishworks celebrate Randi’s birthday at Tittibugs.  Brass on the Block (see the feature below) are at Chew & Bash with DVND and DJ Niko, while Cambodia Soundbase at Botanico, Adam Marsland is at Au Marche, John Peter is at Samai Rum Distillery and Rockustic are at Tropico.  Lefthand Drive (SG) and Drunk on Champagne are at Noisy Chili, and Brett Perkins is on early at Oscar’s on the Corner followed by The Riverside Kings.  In Siem Reap, Rainy Season reggae band are at Sojourner House, and Bullshit Boy (Hamburg) and Jõhatsu are at Atlantis.

On Sunday there’s more birthday celebrations, this time for Thomas Moodie, with Cardboard Lo-Fi, Zakk Zoot, and Cove & Frank at The Deck.  The Malo Brothers are joined by Marianna at The Vine, the Sunday Sundowners open mic is at Tacos Kokopelli, John Peter is at Botanico and later on, Shaken Spirit are at Oscar’s on the Corner. 

The LengPleng Interview

When We Were Salonnieres – European Musical Cultures 2025 Edition

The Phnom Penh International Music Festival, now in its 22nd year, does not seek to bring the best of all classical music all mixed together for one three-day romp.  “Under the broad theme of European music cultures, the festival opens the opportunity for a special focus on, say, a particular period or geographical region,” says festival founder and director Anton Isselhadt.

“This year our focus is on European salons, a very important and meaningful movement in the 19th Century.  The term salon these days might suggest a massage salon or a beauty salon; this is a different kind of salon.  It was a mostly bourgeoise movement, an elite movement, putting on small domestic presentations of music and literature that frequently were world premieres.  Salonieres included such names as Chopin, Rossini, Marcel Proust, Georges Sand, Auguste Rodin.”

Click here to read the full article

The LengPleng Interview

A Big Brass-Off – the arrival of Brass on the Block

In the late oughts, into the teens, the first few years of your correspondent’s absorption into and involvement with the Phnom Penh music scene, it was reasonably common for large bands to form – the trailblazing Mekong Pirates, the early gigs of the Cambodian Space Project, and the almost unwieldy Phnom Penh Hippie Orchestra spring to mind – on the premise of having a good time rather than actually making financial sense.  The advent of the new outfit Brass on the Block – you can see how many are involved in this video (and this video) – there is an echo of this aesthetic.  Your correspondent popped along to hang around before a band rehearsal this week to take a temperature or two or ten.

Cameron Smith (trumpet and vocals):
Fun not necessarily economic?  That’s exactly how we’re operating, yes.  On a fun level for sure.  Being a horn player I try to find other horn players wherever I go.  And it’s this style of music that I like, this New Orleans style that I’ve been lucky enough to be able to put together bands like this wherever I’ve lived.  Here in Phnom Penh I’ve found two really good expat tuba players – not one but two!

Click here to read the full article

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

Bullshit Boy, who describe themselves as a sardonic witty punk rock trio from Hamburg, German, are made up of Sabine on guitar and lead vocals, Carsten on drums and Silvie on bass and backing vocals.  After headlining at Dave Fest on Koh Rong Samloeun over Water Festival and taking Hometown Hangout and The Bay (Kampot) by storm, this weekend they play with Lefthand Drive (Singapore), Soselo Summer and Johatsu at Oscar’s on the Corner on Friday, then head to Siem Reap for Saturday night at Atlantis.

Do you have a pet musical hate/pet peeve?

Carsten: opera
Sabine: sexist male hip-hop
Silvie: German Volksmusik

A private musical indulgence:

We all love power ballads

The year you first came to Cambodia:

Silvie came in 1999, Carsten and Sabine in 2025

An early music memory:

Carsten:  In the Navy by Village People
Sabine: 99 Luftballons by Nena
Silvie: Kate Bush

The last thing you had to eat:

Fish amok

Stagefright: yes or no?

The older we get the worse it gets

A country you want to visit:

Iceland

A book or movie you keep going back to:

1984 by George Orwell

What languages do you have?

German

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:

Carsten:  drums for 44 years
Sabine: guitar for 10 years
Silvie: bass for 20 years

Something people might be surprised to know about you:

None of us has a tattoo

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

Sex Pistols at Club 100 in London

A question from the last participant :    what is your favourite meal?

Chicken breast, artichokes and spaghetti, plus ice cream

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Please welcome 2025 Songwriters Festivals – Siem Reap and Phnom Penh as a new Friend of LengPleng.  We are grateful for your support and look forward to mutually beneficial activities in the months to come.   The Siem Reap Songwriters Festival commences on Sunday 16, the Phnom Penh festival a week later.

 

 


 

 

 

 

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

From left to right: Phil Javelle, Mark Doherty & Mirasol at the official opening of House of Jazz and More on 1 November 2025

 

 

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 13 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:

Sunday 16 – Sunday 22 November

Friday 21 November

Saturday 22 November

Sunday 23 November

  • The Garden Trio (Sharon, Mariko and Mayumi), 3 pm, Le Point
  • Millie Little, 4 pm, New Leaf (Siem Reap)
  • Open mic, 6.30 pm, Nomad Eatery (Siem Reap)

Sunday 23 – Sunday 30 November

Tuesday 25 November

Saturday 29 November

Saturday 6 December

Tuesday 9 December

 

 

 

By Weekly Wrap