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

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

Greetings:

Back in Phnom Penh this weekend are Geography of the Moon, with shows at Noisy Chili on Friday, Au Marche on Saturday and Sundown Social Club on Sunday evening.

In Phnom Penh on Friday evening find Jae Ann, Yusbel & Leo at Craft, Cardboard Li-Fi at Courtyard by Marriott, Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker at The Tin Hat and Phil O’Flaherty at Botanico.  Loopy Reggae at The Box Office,Checkered Past are at Hometown Hangout, Miss Sarawan are at Uniga and Clay George has a weekend debut for his new band Riverside Kings at Oscar’s on the Corner  (see our feature article below).  In Kampot, Packo’s Busking Kings are at First Bar, Kampot Playboys are at Madi Bar and Adam Marsland is at The Bay, while in Siem Reap Joshua Chiang is joined by Paul Mackie at Ubuntu.

In Phnom Penh on Saturday celebrate International Women’s Day at F3 (Friends Futures Factory) with Fem Fest, featuring Sang Sok Serey, MeDha, Tiny Toones, The Messenger Band, and also at The Deck with Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker.  Aymen Ghali says goodbye with a splash at Chew & Bash with the One for the Road event featuring Maki Orkestr, Pocket Change and JazzSauce x Swingtime.  Elsewhere find D&Y: The Revivals at Botanico, The Phnompenhers at Vinoteca, Brooke Palmer and The Lark at Bat Muk Yu, Ex-Pulse at Samai Rum Distillery and Loopy Reggae at Little Susie.  Clay George commences a Saturday night residency at Tropico, A&J Band at Duplex, and later on The Fender Benders are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  On the coast, Packo’s Busking Kings are at The Manor in the afternoon, Matau and Adam are at The Wave: Kep West, Frankie Teardrop Dead are at Madi Bar on the evening, and Johnny Stock is at Kep Natural.

The LengPleng Feature Article

A new poolful of songs – Clay George introduces the Riverside Kings

Hiding away on Monday nights at Oscar’s on the Corner for some months has been the Riverside Kings, a new band put together by Clay George, well known as a solo performer and out front of the Cambodia Country Band.  This Friday the Kings make their weekend debut.

CG:  Where I was living in Siem Reap there was a swimming pool right outside my front door.  I would be up all night writing and then waking up and floating in the pool with all that stuff in my head.  That was a really, really good thing for me.  That pool wrote more of those songs than I did.

Read the full article here

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

Aymen Ghali.  Guitarist and bandleader who is about to relocate to Kansas.  Among his credits are such historical local acts as Havana Kings, Aymen Ghali Trio, and Hot Club of Phnom Penh.  Three of his current acts – Maki Orkestr, Swing Time and Jazz Sauce – will be playing the One For The Road concert at Chew & Bash (along with Pocket Change) on Saturday night for a farewell show.

Do you have a pet musical hate?
Loud tuning or fiddling on stage before the band starts to perform and in between songs – nobody should be making noise, especially if there’s an audience already.  Drummers, guitarists…

A private musical indulgence:
Lady Gaga.  I’m not ashamed.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
I believe it was 2015, around April/May.

An early music memory:
Going to Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival when I was about 16 or 17, which pretty much seduced me into pursuing music.  Amazing music at every campsite day and night, and then seeing Tommy Emmanuel perform on the main stage, the freedom he had when he played blew me away.

The last thing you had to eat:
A calzone, with ricotta and anchovies.

Stagefright: yes or no?
For playing, no.  For talking, yes.

A country you want to visit:
So many.  Cuba, Argentina.  I haven’t been to South America or the Caribbean.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.  Quite easy and nourishing.  Maybe it’s time to revisit it.

What languages do you have?
I’m conversational in French, and 50% in Tunisian Arabic, and not so bad at Khmer these days either.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Guitar, I started when I was around 14.  I started before I owned one.  A friend of mine, Derek Bridges, we kind of learned together.  He had a spare, and I would play chords for him to solo over.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
Cooking is one of my biggest passions.  I am not bad in the kitchen.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
I would go to see Django Reinhardt in Paris in the 1930s.

A question from the last participant – is there a philosophy behind your approach to music?
Feeling above everything else.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Welcome to our newest Friend of LengPleng: The Fender Benders.  Catch them at Oscar’s on the Corner on Saturday night.

      

 

 

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

MeDha drum troupe performing at F3 (Friends Futures Factory) in January 2024 – they’ll be back as a highlight of Fem Fest this Saturday 8 March.

 

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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 March 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:

 

By Weekly Wrap