Moving beyond ceremonial settings and enclosed stages within heritage spaces, Hue International Music Week 2026, a highlight of Hue Festival 2026, is designed to engage the wider community through music.

Amid the cool mountain air of Bach Ma National Park, beneath a star-filled sky and alongside the gentle murmur of streams flowing through the park’s majestic landscape, a group of young performers from Hon Viet Event treated visitors to an emotionally musical night show with “Symphony No. 5: A Date with the Clouds and Sky”.

On the evening of May 18, along the bank of the Huong River - section between Thuong Bac Park and Truong Tien Bridge, the third edition of the community music program “Di mo, nghe chi?” (“Where shall we go, what shall we listen to?”) took place in a romantic atmosphere, drawing large crowds of locals and visitors.

In the mid-20th century, the establishment of multiple music publishing houses positioned Hue as a vital hub of Vietnamese music. As the former imperial capital, the city was both a magnet for prominent composers and a pioneering cradle that shaped the professional contours of Vietnam’s modern and traditional music through its distinguished publishing system.

As the Central region had just suffered severe floods, many young music lovers in Hue chose to organize charity concerts, donating all proceeds to support their compatriots.

Nguyen Luong Ngoc Khanh (stage name Mr. Boomba) is one of the distinctive names in Hue's music scene today. He is both a monochord artist associated with Hue Chamber Music Club, and a music producer in the hiphop and underground music community in Vietnam.

Amid the tranquil rhythm of life in Hue, music still finds places of its own to resonate, not on grand stages, but in small rooms, where young people freely pour their passion into an ever-growing number of local recording studios.

For 20 years devoted to the teaching podium, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Phuong (born in 1983, music teacher at Phan Sao Nam Secondary School) has maintained her dedication as she did when she first graduated.

Thousands of audiences joined a vibrant music night at the Noon Gate Square, where new, youthful, and modern sounds echoed while still retaining a strong sense of identity.

Nguyen Van Tam, a young man passionate about bamboo flute, has been spreading his love for this traditional musical instrument right on the bank of the Huong River. His clear flute melodies have left a good impression on visitors.