The 3rd Annual International Lao New Year Festival will take place Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco. The event is free and will last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Activities include a Lao traditional ceremony, Alms offering, Buddha washing, cultural heritage showcasing Lao traditional model houses, cultural performances, Miss Lao International beauty pageant, and benefit concert. There will also be traditional Lao food and drinks.
Here is a look at some of this year’s performers:
I.B.U. – Tommy Chanthasene, Mike Musni, and Jonathan Shauf
IBU, short for Inspired By U, the name the chose as they claim to be inspired by the people they sing to. IBUs uniquely rich harmonies and outstanding dance skills quickly earned them the distinction as America’s most sought after Asian-American performing group. Now on its 8th year, IBU continues to make headlines, thrusting itself more and more to the forefront of the mainstream music scene. WGN/WB Channel 9 Chicago called them Chicagos hottest boy group, and 102.3FM introduced them as Asians with Soul.
In November 2004, IBU competed with 300 artists from around the world at the New York International Music Festival in Manhattan and was voted as the best R&B Group, becoming the first ever and the only Asian-American group to ever win at the festival. In 2005, the festival named them R&B Group of the year. The year before, IBU won the state-sponsored, the Chicago Music Opportunity Project, with Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child as one of the judges. The group has become a favorite by the world series champion Chicago White Sox, performing the National Anthem at thirteen games Their songs were ranked number 6 by Hot 97.7FM in the bay area and has been played in many radio stations in the US, Asia and Europe.
The grou
p has performed from the bay area to the big apple and is one of the busiest Asian American performing groups in the country today. In 2007 IBU was featured on MTV2 On The Rise. The group has been seen internationally, on various shows ABS-CBN/The Filipino Channel, as well as the International Channel. IBU’s songs have ranked 6 on Hot 97.7FM’s playlist in April 2006, Voted 13 on 97.3FM Missouri, and 3 on WCH Radio’s top 30 songs of 2006. They have appeared on Fox TV, WGN, Cable Access TV and various TV stations in Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle. IBU has released its first solo album entitled Redefined, in August 2005, their fourth recording project. Chicago Tribune ran a story about the groups struggle to overcome stereotyping of the Asian-American Artists by the Mainstream Music Industry and media in November 2004.
IBU took a hiatus from performing in early March 2009 to work on their sophomore album. The album is titled “Inspired By U.” On this album, IBU wants to showcase their true R&B character as an artist, in the true tradition of their soulful and harmony drenched compositions. The songs will present a more mature IBU, vocally and artistically.
SEAYL
South East Asian Young Leaders (SEAYL), a program of Community Health for Asian Americans, is a youth-driven group that was formed in the wake of the tragic murder of Chan Boonkeut in October 2003. A group of concerned youth recognized the need to address community violence in West County, particularly the city of Richmond and came together to form the group. Their mission is to foster a friendly and safe evironment in West Contra Costa County to keep youth off the streets, betterment of the Southeast Asian community: developing leadership, academic, and job skills, learning about and sharing Southeast Asian culture, being involved in the community and promoting youth voice.
Phone Phoummithone
Phone Phoummithone
Born in one of the World Heritage sites and one of the hidden treasures of Asia, the city of Luang Prabang, Laos, Phone released her debut album in 1988, she, “Chai Sai” and from there she never looked back. Phone has based her career on sheer dedication, passion, and commitment. Combined with her unparalleled vocal talents and style, she has become a sought after entertainer and entertainment advisor.
Phone Phoummithone has established herself as one of the Lao-American music industry’s top vocalists, with a voice that is as powerful as it is recognizable. She is best known for her cunning stage performances as well as her charm and charismatic personality, but those are only a couple of entries on her show business resume.
During her 20-years career, she has used her talents as an artist and entertainment advisor to help out notable events internationally. Her most memorable concert was in Long Beach, California in 1989, performing alongside many legendaries, such as Mr. Voradeth Ditthavong, Mr. Korviseth, Mr. Khamteurm Sanoubane, Ketsana Vilaylack, Savanthong, Susie Wong, the Nam Pheung Band and many more. In 2001, with the support of the Lao Education Foundation of Canada, she help organized Lao artists from around the world to perform in a three cities, nine concert tours to help promote public AIDS awareness and fundraising for the handicapped children of Laos.
Rick Aliya Khounlavouth
Singer, Rick Aliya Khounlavouth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Laos and Chinese working-class family. His uncle, Khamphay Khounlavouth, a songwriter based in Paris, France, has been writing songs for more than three decades for famous Laotian and Thai singers such as Tom Rainbow and Daraphet. Rick mainly focused his childhood on school however always had a gift for music. His uncle uses Rick as one of the first singers to test his songs. The very first song Rick sampled for his uncle, which is now sang by Tom Rainbow, was “Phab Heng Kwam Lung”.
Since 9 years old, Rick has always been surrounded with music growing up. Though Rick cannot read and write Lao or Thai, he can sing any songs given to him to listen to from both his father and uncle. Once his family members saw and realized his gift, they molded him into becoming a great singer and hoped that one day he could perform to others. At the age of 13, Rick started performing at weddings and Lao communities events.
For such a young performer, Rick showed remarkable vocal range and depth. Years gone by, Rick continues to impress his audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions and conquer the languages barriers. Although Rick has a career in the corporate world, his real passion is and always will be music. He would like to thank his family and uncle for giving him the ability to follow his dream and encouraging him to strive for perfection.
King Khampa
King Khampha is an international Singer/Musician/Arranger and mostly well-known for his performance style as Lao Elvis. Singing Rock’n Roll, Pop, Blues, and various types of musics, King Khampha has recorded more than 50 songs and videos in six languages, Lao, Thai, English, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese.
Born into a family of 7 sisters an brothers in a Southern Province of Laos, Savannaket, King Khampha calls Paris, France his home for the past 35 yrs. Singing and performing since his late teen, with a group of friends, King Khampha formed his very first band in 1968 called, “Noum Sinlapin Savannakhet”. Noum Sinlapin Savannaket toured the country from the Southern Province of Laos to the Northern Province of Laos. One of the highlights in his career was when the band performed on the lawn of the Grand Royal Palace in Luang Prabang in front of HRH His Majesty King Sri Savang Vatthana and Her Majesty Queen Khamphouie. King Khampha has a huge fan base in both Europe and North America. With his powerful voice combined with his performance style, he’s dubbed, “Lao Elvis” by his fans and peers.
Since beginning his singing career, King Khampha never stops, slows down, and has never looked back. Recently returning from a performance contract in Cuba, King Khampha is back on the road again. This time, he begins his tour in Europe, US, Australia, and Asia.
Thank you! We appreciate you’re publication for helping us to get out the word!
You have a typo in Rick A’s section. “… Laos and Chinese…” should be “… Lao and Chinese…” korb jai lai lai.
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