What Sets Good Vibes Festival Apart From Other Music Events? Here Is All You Need To Know About GVF!

By JUICE Malaysia  •  05 Apr 2023 in Features

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If you’re a music fan in Malaysia, chances are you’ve heard of Good Vibes Festival. This annual music festival has been around for a decade now and has become a staple in the Malaysian festival scene.

But how did it all start? What sets Good Vibes Festival apart from other festivals in the region? And what challenges has it faced over the years?

Luckily, we had the opportunity to interview Wan Alman, who is the Director of Entertainment for Good Vibes Festival, and he gives us the low down on everything we need to know about our favourite Malaysian music festival.

Here is our interview with him below…

How did Good Vibes Festival come to be and what inspired its creation?
We’ve always been music fans and had attended various music festivals across the globe. We simply wanted to create a homegrown music festival brand, which would put the country on the map as one of the major destinations for international musical acts.

10 years ago, the festival landscape here was quite different – EDM/dance music festivals were all the rage and we wanted to create a multi-genre music festival with more emphasis on live acts instead of just DJs.

We are huge fans of Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and of course, Coachella in the U.S. You could say that these two festivals play a major part in shaping our aspirations for Good Vibes Festival.

What advice would you give to someone who is attending Good Vibes Festival for the first time?
Please come early, so you won’t miss any of the acts you plan to see! There are lots of things to see and do at the festival, and you could always just kick back and have some drinks while soaking in all the vibes.

Good Vibes Festival is a rain or shine event so please check the weather forecast and come prepared for the chance of rain (bring a poncho or two!).

So far we’ve been lucky and only had one edition of the festival in very heavy rain – but everyone still had fun nonetheless!

How does Good Vibes Festival differentiate itself from other music festivals in the region?
While there are tons of festivals in SEA, GVF has managed to carve its own lane in the festival landscape.

A lot of SEA festivals are more EDM/dance music-centric while GVF features a healthy mix of genres – from DJ sets to live indie, rock, hip hop, R&B, electronic and pop acts – a big chunk of our international attendees are from our neighbours Singapore, Thailand and also the Philippines.

One of our defining features is our twin main stages which ensures non-stop music from start to finish, as performances alternate between the two stages. Also, and I might be biased about this, but I’ve been to music festivals around the region and I can definitely say that the Malaysian festival crowd is definitely one of the best out there, as we go all out to dress up, turn out and have fun at the festival.

What challenges has Good Vibes Festival faced since its inception?
Running a music festival is not easy – each edition of the festival comes with its own set of challenges.

At the start, one of the biggest challenges we faced was finding our identity, and in turn finding our audience. Music festivals are largely defined by their artist lineups, and it was hard to curate the ideal lineup with the budget limitations that we initially had.

It took a lot of hard work and perseverance to get to where we are right now – actually we even came close to completely pulling the plug in 2016, which was the year we moved to Genting Highlands and expanded to a two-day festival, as we still hadn’t hit our sales targets.

However, that year was when the festival really started getting a lot of buzz and hype, so we stuck to our guns and sure enough the festival was sold out the following year.

Since then, we’ve also faced many other challenges – there are so many festivals around the world and everyone is competing to book the most popular acts, so naturally artist fees climb higher and higher each year. A huge challenge is trying to book the best acts possible, but also keeping costs low and ticket prices reasonable for our market, which is also tough due to the high entertainment tax here.

In addition to that, we also have to ensure that the artists we book comply with all the local government guidelines and policies, which in turn limits the choice of artists available to perform in the country. Contrary to what most people might think, it does not really get that much easier with time!

However, with experience we have learned how to successfully navigate these challenges to produce the best experience for everyone.

What is the process for selecting the artists who perform at Good Vibes Festival?
We try to curate a lineup which gives people what they want, as well as provide a platform for deserving artists which would benefit from exposure to a larger audience.

Artists who perform at the festival need to be original artists i.e have original songs and are not a cover band, and should have enough material for a full set.

Our demographic mostly comprises Gen Z and Millenials so we try to book acts that are popular within that demographic, although we aren’t averse to booking iconic older acts that would appeal to almost everybody. Most importantly however, the artists on the lineup should fit the vibe of the festival.

How do you balance the cost of bringing down an international act with the expectation of sponsors and the audience?
To be honest, this has been one of our biggest challenges this year due to the increasingly high cost of artist fees.

As we grow bigger and aim to elevate the festival experience by booking bigger acts, we have had to increase ticket prices and also sponsorship rates. We are trying our best to keep ticket prices as low as we can, and while we can’t say we have the lowest ticket prices in the region, it’s still definitely on the low side when compared to most other festivals.

With international artist concerts generally costing upwards of RM200 per ticket for just one act, I’d say GVF tickets still provide way more bang for your buck with more than 20 international acts and a total of 40+ acts for you to catch at the festival.

How does Good Vibes Festival address issues regarding general safety and security, both during the festival and in the surrounding areas?
We work closely with authorities and comply with all required safety and security regulations.

We also have teams of security and medical professionals who can be easily found on site to monitor the crowd and are always on standby to deal with any safety or security issues.

What partnerships have Good Vibes Festival formed with local businesses and organizations to enhance the festival experience?
Throughout its history, Good Vibes Festival has partnered with numerous local and international brands such as Maxis, Digi, Maybank, Netflix, Spotify, and countless other brands who have come on board as sponsors and have had activations in the festival to enhance the overall festival experience.

We have also partnered with government bodies such as Malaysia Major Events and Tourism Malaysia to promote the festival outside the country and attract tourists to attend the festival.

We only work with local independent food vendors for our Good Bites food village, which provides the festival goer with a wide range of festival food options, and work with local and regional media partners to promote the festival.

What steps has Good Vibes Festival taken to ensure accessibility for all attendees, including those with disabilities?
We have special viewing decks for people with mobility impairments and require the use of wheelchairs, and are working to ensure that the festival is accessible to all.

With all that said, stay tuned for JUICE’s coverage on 2023’s Good Vibes Festival here on our website and on our Instagram.