From the Music Festival Seasons page, it is known that:

• The region’s Southeast zone’s dry season corresponds with the summer/autumn seasons in the northern hemisphere’s temperate climate zone, which is peak season for outdoor music festivals.
• The region’s Northwest zone’s dry season corresponds with the summer/autumn seasons in Australia, which is peak season for outdoor music festivals.

and when compared with music festival seasons in other parts of the world:

Traveling by air nowadays is convenient and relatively cheap.  ASEAN is also situated close several large music festival touring regions, which means more destinations can be added to a leg of an international tour.

• Nearby large music markets:
  • North: China
  • Northeast: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan
  • South: Australia, New Zealand
  • West: India

Tour planning examples:

• During US/Europe summer music festival season (June-September), continue the tour into East Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) and then to Southeast Asia’s Southeast climate zone (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) for outdoor festivals while playing indoor venues in the Northwest climate zone (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines) and also nearby Hong Kong and Taiwan.
  • This touring plan can continue from Southeast Asia into Australia, which their summer is just around the corner.
• During Australian summer music festival season (October-February), continue the tour from Australia and New Zealand to Southeast Asia’s Northwest climate zone (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines) and also nearby Hong Kong and Taiwan or even India for outdoor festivals while playing indoor venues in the Southeast climate zone (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia).
  • This touring plan can continue into Central and South Africa, and then to the northern part of South America, which could then connect with North America’s spring season festivals.

Please note that these are just examples made from over generalizing each region’s music festival seasons. One must go into detail when researching for planning touring routes.

Work Permits & Artist Visas

This is definitely a BIG topic to cover, and the procedures change every-now-and-then, so it is best to consult a local promoter/organizer who can give you the most accurate and current advice.

However, if you are a small indie band that wants to tour around Southeast Asia, the common practice is to go DIY and under-the-radar *wink* e.g. pack light and borrow or rent gear instead of bringing your own. The reason is that it is quite expensive and time consuming to get a proper work permit and/or artist visa. Moreover, because most locals have little disposable income to spend on tickets or merch, it would be really hard for you to recuperate your investment towards the tour.

WARNING: We do not encourage anyone to commit fraud or crimes, but are just stating the fact of this common practice.