Concert «Phan Mạnh Quỳnh»

   Some songs here are known by heart even by people who could not name the man who wrote them. An autumn evening in the pine forest above Dalat is a rare chance to hear them from the author himself: Phan Mạnh Quỳnh takes the small The Nest stage at Mây Lang Thang with a live band behind him.

   His name broke through in 2015 with «Vợ người ta»: the video passed 100 million views on YouTube, and by Google's year-end statistics it was the most searched query in Vietnam that year. A season later the first run of «Bài hát hay nhất» moved him into another bracket — a songwriter rather than a one-hit act. Mỹ Tâm, Hà Anh Tuấn and Bùi Lan Hương have all sung his material.

   The poster puts Mr. K Band right next to his name, so the songs arrive in live arrangements, played a few metres in front of you rather than off a backing track.

   The evening suits anyone who knows his work from film soundtracks and covers but has never heard him in person, and newcomers who want a short way into contemporary Vietnamese pop.

   The Nest is Mây Lang Thang's small stage among the pines, 12 km from central Dalat, so leave early. The organiser runs a shuttle at 25 000 ₫ per passenger, seats limited, picking up and dropping off at Phở 16 khu quy hoạch thể thao, Lang Biang; the shuttle fee is not refundable. The organiser's email is [email protected].

   Worth knowing when you book: the PREMIUM tier includes one drink; children under 1 m sit with a parent at no extra charge, while those from 1 m to 1.2 m need a seat of their own with a 70% surcharge, 30% of it refunded at the check-in desk. Orders from 10 seats get 5% off, from 20 seats 10%; VAT is included.

   The concert is sung in Vietnamese, though the melodies need no translation. Bring something warm and come early — highland evenings turn cool, and this is one of those nights when the author tells his stories himself.