HANOI, September 8, 2022 – Backtrack Vocals, a five-person multi-genre a capella group from New York City, visited several cities across Vietnam from August 24 to September 6. Sponsored by the U.S. Mission in Vietnam and American Music Abroad, Backtrack Vocals held public concerts, master classes, and community outreach activities in Danang, An Giang, Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Lao Cai, and Hanoi.
In Danang, Backtrack Vocals joined well-known Vietnamese artists, such as Da LAB, My Anh, Buc Tuong, Kimmese, Brainwave, and more on stage at BridgeFest 2022, a music festival highlighting diversity, inclusion, and social issues in Vietnam. The festival attracted thousands of attendees both in-person and online.
Speaking at BridgeFest, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper said, “BridgeFest is a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a community and express our support for a society that values the importance of all members equally. Social inclusion makes societies stronger, more resilient, and more globally competitive.”
In the Mekong Delta, Backtrack Vocals also performed for hundreds of students and faculty at An Giang and Can Tho universities. Additionally, in Ho Chi Minh City, the American group conducted a singing workshop with students at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and performed on stage with several students at a public performance at the Conservatory.
In Hanoi, Backtrack Vocals engaged with an audience of 300 in a public performance at the Youth Theater and held a musical exchange with several hundred students at the National University of Art Education. The group also traveled north to Lao Cai Province and cultural outreach with students and lecturers at Lao Cai College.
American Music Abroad artists represent the best of the new generation of U.S. musical ambassadors, reaching beyond concert halls to interact with other musicians and the general public abroad.