I guess after our second attendance at Joyland—having tasted both the Bali and Jakarta chapter—going to this incredible festival became a sort of tradition for Agung and myself. So when the tickets for this year’s Jakarta chapter opened up—with only one easter egg video of the headliner being posted—we grabbed at the chance like lightning. It was insane! The artist being so subtly announced turned out to be Bombay Bicycle Club, a band neither of us religiously listen to, but we like their music well enough. Plus, we always know that when we go to Joyland, it’s about more than the music—they’re always serving the vibe. So, for the first time, we came with an open mind.
For me—and, in effect, also Agung—Joyland feels a whole lot more fun this time. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I recently joined a studio filled with so many musicians—and/or people who are true music enthusiasts. They often work closely with various music venues and festivals, including Joyland, so most of everyone was going. The warmth of the place just grew tenfold, as we kept running into them wherever we went. Plus a lot of other friends outside of my office—my friends, Agung’s friends. Being at Joyland felt a little bit like coming home.
I guess after our second attendance at Joyland—having tasted both the Bali and Jakarta chapter—going to this incredible festival became a sort of tradition for Agung and myself. So when the tickets for this year’s Jakarta chapter opened up—with only one easter egg video of the headliner being posted—we grabbed at the chance like lightning. It was insane! The artist being so subtly announced turned out to be Bombay Bicycle Club, a band neither of us religiously listen to, but we like their music well enough. Plus, we always know that when we go to Joyland, it’s about more than the music—they’re always serving the vibe. So, for the first time, we came with an open mind.
For me—and, in effect, also Agung—Joyland feels a whole lot more fun than before. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I recently joined a studio that is filled with so many musicians—and/or people who are true music enthusiasts. They often work closely with various music venues and festivals, including Joyland, so most of everyone was going. The warmth of the place just grew tenfold, as we kept running into them wherever we went. Plus a lot of other friends outside of my office—my friends, Agung’s friends. Being at Joyland felt a little bit like coming home.
Day 1: Rhythmic Belonging
Just like last year, the festival was held at the Baseball Stadium in Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan. Unlike last year, Agung and I already familiarised ourselves with the location and parked accordingly.
The first thing that we noticed upon entering is the more subtle branding at the entrance gate—there wasn’t a lot of visual paraphernalia, which ended up looking a little bland. These gigantic mirrors (as you can see from the cover of this post) are the only memorable elements about the entrance gate—although, it turns out, there are more mirror installations around the area this time. Selfie haven? I think so!
As we walked further inside, we started to notice the layout has been changed from last year—thankfully, because it was much more roundabout before. Unfortunately, this meant that the Lily Pad stage was placed dangerously close to the Plainsong Live stage—we’ll circle back to this.
Just like last year, the festival was held at the Baseball Stadium in Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan. Unlike last year, Agung and I already familiarised ourselves with the location and parked accordingly.
The first thing that we noticed upon entering is the more subtle branding at the entrance gate—there wasn’t a lot of visual paraphernalia, which ended up looking a little bland. These gigantic mirrors (as you can see from the cover of this post) are the only memorable elements about the entrance gate—although, it turns out, there are more mirror installations around the area this time. Selfie haven? Yes!
As we walked further inside, we started to notice the layout has been changed from last year—thankfully, because it was much more roundabout before. Unfortunately, this meant that the Lily Pad stage was placed dangerously close to the Plainsong Live stage—we’ll circle back to this.
While the gates were already open since 3.30 PM, somehow the first performance on stage started at 4.20 PM. I thought I was crazy in thinking that the festival started later this year—or that there were less performers?—but I looked back on my post from last year, and I was right.
The first performance we caught was BANK, though, which started playing at around 5PM. We arrived early at the parking lot, actually but took our time grabbing coffee, that we ended up catching the performance perhaps 15 minutes in (lol). I personally love their backdrop art—especially this SEGA-inspired one I captured—and their music is so diverse. The one that made its way to my memory is “Amerika.”
Afterwards, we just walked around for a few hours—using the toilet before it got too crowded, checking out the food vendors, taking photos, etc. If you noticed, we never really spent time at 21 Monkeys during our previous time at Joyland—I don’t know why, we’ve both passed 21 for over a decade. But this year we spent a lot of time there to chill out.
While the gates were already open since 3.30 PM, somehow the first performance on stage started at 4.20 PM. I thought I was crazy in thinking that the festival started later this year—or that there were less performers?—but I looked back on my post from last year, and I was right.
The first performance we caught was BANK, though, which started playing at around 5PM. We arrived early at the parking lot, actually but took our time grabbing coffee, that we ended up catching the performance perhaps 15 minutes in (lol). I personally love their backdrop art—especially this SEGA-inspired one I captured—and their music is so diverse. The one that made its way to my memory is “Amerika.”
Afterwards, we just walked around for a few hours—using the toilet before it got too crowded, checking out the food vendors, taking photos, etc. If you noticed, we never really spent time at 21 Monkeys during our previous time at Joyland—I don’t know why, we’ve both passed 21 for over a decade. But this year we spent a lot of time there to chill out.
This time I feel like Joyland is playing around with their event’s concepts—and I notice a few shifts. First and foremost, the most noticeable change has got to be their White Peacock area. It has since grown considerably larger. The area now has a little artist alley, a tiny playground, a mini stage and an official merch store and rental—which includes child-specific items, such as strollers and plushies. The area even has its own Instagram and event rundown now! Tell me that’s not an upgrade.
Other than that, their Lily Pad Stage and Cinerillaz also got an upgrade/makeover. The Lily Pad Stage now has a concept, as the artists were curated by White Shoes & the Couple’s Company—with the band itself also performing on this stage, instead of the big stage like they used to. The stage has become considerably bigger and many well-known foreign artists were set to perform here as well—as opposed to only up-and-coming names like before. Meanwhile, although Cinerillaz hasn’t changed in concept itself—as far as I know anyway—it started to be featured separate from Joyland this year. It was shown during Cipete Creative District that I also visited earlier this year. I think Joyland is starting to see the potential of these areas on their own, cultivating them separate from the festival.
PolaPola Clothing top // Book of Deer skirt (old) // Roti Eneng tote bag // thrifted denim jacket // old boots // photos of me by Agung
There were two notable performers of the day for me. The first one was Real Estate, whose ‘performance’ we saw twice actually. The first one was their DJ set at the Guinness booth in the 21 Monkeys area. We arrived just in time to catch their last song, before they had to go prepare for their on-stage performance. It was ‘Dancing on My Own’ by Robyn and we loved the vibe. Then, obviously, we also caught them live on stage—although I was a little downhearted to miss most of it, since I was stuck in line for the toilet. Their strong east-coast Dad vibe was super comforting.
The second—and, honestly, grand finale of the day for me—was St. Vincent. TL;DR Mother was mothering. Annie Clark was truly a sight to behold in person—I’d only listened to 2.5 songs of hers, yet I felt absolutely everything throughout her entire performance. She truly gave it her all. There were two major moments with her, though. First, her performance of the intimate song ‘Candy Darling’ was ruined by the sound of Prontaxan from the Lily Pad stage, who offered an entirely different vibe—so she skipped it altogether. It was…pretty embarrassing to witness, to say the least. Second, she quickly moved on to my favourite song ‘New York’ and proceeded to dive into the crowd. If you recall, Phoenix did the same just last year. JOYLAND TRADITION OR WHAT?!?
This time I feel like Joyland is playing around with their event’s concepts—and I notice a few shifts. First and foremost, the most noticeable change has got to be their White Peacock area. It has since grown considerably larger. The area now has a little artist alley, a tiny playground, a mini stage and an official merch store and rental—which includes child-specific items, such as strollers and plushies. The area even has its own Instagram and event rundown now! Tell me that’s not an upgrade.
Other than that, their Lily Pad Stage and Cinerillaz also got an upgrade/makeover. The Lily Pad Stage now has a concept, as the artists were curated by White Shoes & the Couple’s Company—with the band itself also performing on this stage, instead of the big stage like they used to. The stage has become considerably bigger and many well-known foreign artists were set to perform here as well—as opposed to only up-and-coming names like before. Meanwhile, although Cinerillaz hasn’t changed in concept itself—as far as I know anyway—it started to be featured separate from Joyland this year. It was shown during Cipete Creative District that I also visited earlier this year. I think Joyland is starting to see the potential of these areas on their own, cultivating them separate from the festival.
PolaPola Clothing top // Book of Deer skirt (old) // Roti Eneng tote bag // thrifted denim jacket // old boots // photos of me by Agung
There were two notable performers of the day for me. The first one was Real Estate, whose ‘performance’ we saw twice actually. The first one was their DJ set at the Guinness booth in the 21 Monkeys area. We arrived just in time to catch their last song, before they had to go prepare for their on-stage performance. It was ‘Dancing on My Own’ by Robyn and we loved the vibe. Then, obviously, we also caught them live on stage—although I was a little downhearted to miss most of it, since I was stuck in line for the toilet. Their strong east-coast Dad vibe was super comforting.
The second—and, honestly, grand finale of the day for me—was St. Vincent. TL;DR Mother was mothering. Annie Clark was truly a sight to behold in person—I’d only listened to 2.5 songs of hers, yet I felt absolutely everything throughout her entire performance. She truly gave it her all. There were two major moments with her, though. First, her performance of the intimate song ‘Candy Darling’ was ruined by the sound of Prontaxan from the Lily Pad stage, who offered an entirely different vibe—so she skipped it altogether. It was…pretty embarrassing to witness, to say the least. Second, she quickly moved on to my favourite song ‘New York’ and proceeded to dive into the crowd. If you recall, Phoenix did the same just last year. JOYLAND TRADITION OR WHAT?!?
Day 2: Old Chords, New Sound
Afterwards, we didn’t really expect to see anyone perform until much later, but when we saw Automatic come on the Plainsong Live Stage, we decided to stick around for a little bit. Here was a musician neither of us had ever listened to before, yet when we heard them perform song after song, we enjoyed their music very much. It was so much fun to listen to! Their EDM-meets-post-punk-rock sound is just super catchy. I loved ‘NRG’ and ‘Too Much Money’ in particular.
We didn’t stay for the whole performance, though, since we wanted to explore the area. We made a beeline for the White Peacock, where we grabbed my work friends’ masterpiece—the Loss of Innocence zine. Congrats on the zine, guys!
The thing I suppose I’d never really mentioned before is that Joyland Jakarta is always held towards the end of November, which is peak wet season. In other words, it was susceptible to a lot of rain. That’s kind of how Day 2 started for us—the rain got so hard that we had to take shelter for a little bit on the way.
Thankfully, we still managed to catch Sigmun at the Joyland Stage, who Agung was so excited to see—yes, this is another session of Agung-drags-Bivi-to-listen-to-cool-musicians. While I cannot name the song that stuck with me, I remember loving the performance very much anyway—especially since Agung loved it so much!
The thing I suppose I’d never really mentioned before is that Joyland Jakarta is always held towards the end of November, which is peak wet season. In other words, it was susceptible to a lot of rain. That’s kind of how Day 2 started for us—the rain got so hard that we had to take shelter for a little bit on the way.
Thankfully, we still managed to catch Sigmun at the Joyland Stage, who Agung was so excited to see—yes, this is another session of Agung-drags-Bivi-to-listen-to-cool-musicians. While I cannot name the song that stuck with me, I remember loving the performance very much anyway—especially since Agung loved it so much!
Afterwards, we didn’t really expect to see anyone perform until much later, but when we saw Automatic come on the Plainsong Live Stage, we decided to stick around for a little bit. Here was a musician neither of us had ever listened to before, yet when we heard them perform song after song, we enjoyed their music very much. It was so much fun to listen to! Their EDM-meets-post-punk-rock sound is just super catchy. I loved ‘NRG’ and ‘Too Much Money’ in particular.
We didn’t stay for the whole performance, though, since we wanted to explore the area. We made a beeline for the White Peacock, where we grabbed my work friends’ masterpiece—the Loss of Innocence zine. Congrats on the zine, guys!
Jirapah t-shirt // hand-me-down plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // Somethings to Keep tote bag (borrowed) // old socks // ASICS Gel-NYC sneakers // photos of me by Agung
Today we checked out the 21 Monkeys by the Lily Pad Stage, where we found cool local brands like Kura Kura and Santai—so we decided to chill out with a can for a little bit. We ran into a couple of my work friends, Arvian with his girlfriend Udu from Lomba Sihir and Anna who brought us Sababay.
Since our next goal performer wasn’t scheduled to play for a few more hours, Agung and I stayed on to see—or more like hear, on my part—The Panturas with Griwangsa Tropical Unit. The entrance to the area was crowded with people trying to watch the performance—Agung joined in at one point, whereas I chose to remain seated. The performance was pretty wild and raw, yet with a hint of ethnic Sundanese sound that makes it really unique. I’d heard about this band for years, but this was the first time I listened to their music. It was nothing like I expected.
Jirapah t-shirt // hand-me-down plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // Somethings to Keep tote bag (borrowed) // old socks // ASICS Gel-NYC sneakers // photos of me by Agung
Today we checked out the 21 Monkeys by the Lily Pad Stage, where we found cool local brands like Kura Kura and Santai—so we decided to chill out with a can for a little bit. We ran into a couple of my work friends, Arvian with his girlfriend Udu from Lomba Sihir and Anna who brought us Sababay.
Since our next goal performer wasn’t scheduled to play for a few more hours, Agung and I stayed on to see—or more like hear, on my part—The Panturas with Griwangsa Tropical Unit. The entrance to the area was crowded with people trying to watch the performance—Agung joined in at one point, whereas I chose to remain seated. The performance was pretty wild and raw, yet with a hint of ethnic Sundanese sound that makes it really unique. I’d heard about this band for years, but this was the first time I listened to their music. It was nothing like I expected.
Once The Panturas finished performing, most of us made our exit from the 21 Monkeys and Lily Pad Stage area—it also just so happened to coincide with dinner time. We made our way to the food vendors and picked one to stand in line for, where we ran into our friend Uta who you might remember from previous Joylands. We should really stop meeting like this.
While I waited in line with Uta, Agung decided to approach the stage and see John Caroll Kirby perform—more out of curiosity than prior interest in the artist. By the time we got our order, however, it was already time for Efek Rumah Kaca to perform. I was intrigued by this artist since a lot of people thought their music would resonate so well with me. I didn’t stay through their entire performance, though—I’m sorry.
The moment we’d been waiting for all night finally arrived: The 5.6.7.8’s‘ performance! To be honest, I didn’t know who they were, but Agung told me about them and I was intrigued. These women are probably in their 60’s now, yet their performance was so full of energy! It was one of those warm and interactive performances that I thoroughly enjoyed. They even did an encore, oh such sweet ladies 🥹
Afterwards, we managed to catch Majelis Lidah Berduri, whose set was entirely theatrical—it was so majestic, I was in awe the whole time! And, of course, the night closed with Ali—a Joyland must-see. This arabic funk band always serves the best rhythm to move your body to. What a night!
Once The Panturas finished performing, most of us made our exit from the 21 Monkeys and Lily Pad Stage area—it also just so happened to coincide with dinner time. We made our way to the food vendors and picked one to stand in line for, where we ran into our friend Uta who you might remember from previous Joylands. We should really stop meeting like this.
While I waited in line with Uta, Agung decided to approach the stage and see John Caroll Kirby perform—more out of curiosity than prior interest in the artist. By the time we got our order, however, it was already time for Efek Rumah Kaca to perform. I was intrigued by this artist since a lot of people thought their music would resonate so well with me. I didn’t stay through their entire performance, though—I’m sorry.
The moment we’d been waiting for all night finally arrived: The 5.6.7.8’s‘ performance! To be honest, I didn’t know who they were, but Agung told me about them and I was intrigued. These women are probably in their 60’s now, yet their performance was so full of energy! It was one of those warm and interactive performances that I thoroughly enjoyed. They even did an encore, oh such sweet ladies 🥹
Afterwards, we managed to catch Majelis Lidah Berduri, whose set was entirely theatrical—it was so majestic, I was in awe the whole time! And, of course, the night closed with Ali—a Joyland must-see. This arabic funk band always serves the best rhythm to move your body to. What a night!
Day 3: A Rainy Rhapsody
By the time we arrived at the Land of Joy on Day 3, it was really pouring with a touch of gust. Agung was lucky enough to come prepared with a light raincoat, whereas I only had my decrepit umbrella. And The Adams was playing our song too! Come hail and high water, we braved the rain and joined the crowd in front of the stage. Despite the downpour, we managed to have fun seeing them perform (even for the second time) and singing along to their songs. They are one of those artists who bring a little something extra to their live performances—always such a pleasure!
Since it was going to be a packed night—we had a lot of artists we’d like to see—we thought to go to the toilet and fill our tummy now. We bought dinner just as Mono was coming onto the Joyland Stage. I wasn’t aware of them before, but apparently Agung listened to them when he was in high school or uni—they were apparently huge then (?). Their instrumental shoegaze rock was so atmospheric. A good companion to the chicken we ate, as we listened from afar.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // Somethings to Keep tote bag (borrowed) // old socks // ASICS Gel-NYC sneakers // photos of me by Agung
By the time we arrived at the Land of Joy on Day 3, it was really pouring with a touch of gust. Agung was lucky enough to come prepared with a light raincoat, whereas I only had my decrepit umbrella. And The Adams was playing our song too! Come hail and high water, we braved the rain and joined the crowd in front of the stage. Despite the downpour, we managed to have fun seeing them perform (even for the second time) and singing along to their songs. They are one of those artists who bring a little something extra to their live performances—always such a pleasure!
Since it was going to be a packed night—we had a lot of artists we’d like to see—we thought to go to the toilet and fill our tummy now. We bought dinner just as Mono was coming onto the Joyland Stage. I wasn’t aware of them before, but apparently Agung listened to them when he was in high school or uni—they were apparently huge then (?). Their instrumental shoegaze rock was so atmospheric. A good companion to the chicken we ate, as we listened from afar.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // Somethings to Keep tote bag (borrowed) // old socks // ASICS Gel-NYC sneakers // photos of me by Agung
Right after, came the first headliner of the night: Blueboy! Again, another artist who was huge in my teenage years, yet I’d never been aware of them—seriously, where was I? Their music ranges very wide, from really chill and melodic to very guitar-heavy and loud. Yet, somehow, Gemma kept her singing consistent. Agung and I sang along to most of the songs, it was so much fun!
However, the most fun with Blueboy was to be had at the Guinness booth in the 21 Monkeys area, as they (Paul and Gemma) served their DJ set. And it was literally the best DJ set all weekend! They played music from amazing bands, like Blur, The Smiths and The Killers—even the Indonesian Band, rumahsakit. Agung and I danced it out on the packed dance floor, with my work friend (also named Agung) in front of me, so I was in an Agung dance sandwich 🤪
By the time the biggest headliner of the entire weekend—Bombay Bicycle Club—came on the Joyland Stage, I was sweating like crazy and spilling Guinness all over myself as I ran to squeeze my way to the front of the stage. Not going to lie, I was low-key pissed at Agung for keeping me from them.
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of them or listened to them particularly frequently, I couldn’t help but to feel all sorts of emotions when I saw them live. Even without really knowing any of the lyrics, I sang along to every single song—even the Selena Gomez one they performed. And I did it with all my heart.
It was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend—even with the weather being what it was and everything else in between. Oh, what a weekend!
Right after, came the first headliner of the night: Blueboy! Again, another artist who was huge in my teenage years, yet I’d never been aware of them—seriously, where was I? Their music ranges very wide, from really chill and melodic to very guitar-heavy and loud. Yet, somehow, Gemma kept her singing consistent. Agung and I sang along to most of the songs, it was so much fun!
However, the most fun with Blueboy was to be had at the Guinness booth in the 21 Monkeys area, as they (Paul and Gemma) served their DJ set. And it was literally the best DJ set all weekend! They played music from amazing bands, like Blur, The Smiths and The Killers—even the Indonesian Band, rumahsakit. Agung and I danced it out on the packed dance floor, with my work friend (also named Agung) in front of me, so I was in an Agung dance sandwich 🤪
By the time the biggest headliner of the entire weekend—Bombay Bicycle Club—came on the Joyland Stage, I was sweating like crazy and spilling Guinness all over myself as I ran to squeeze my way to the front of the stage. Not going to lie, I was low-key pissed at Agung for keeping me from them.
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of them or listened to them particularly frequently, I couldn’t help but to feel all sorts of emotions when I saw them live. Even without really knowing any of the lyrics, I sang along to every single song—even the Selena Gomez one they performed. And I did it with all my heart.
It was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend—even with the weather being what it was and everything else in between. Oh, what a weekend!
Afterword
When we were debriefing ourselves—which is something we love to do after a fun event or experience—Agung remarked that I had a lot more fun at this Joyland than ever before. I was surprised to find that impression on him, because I didn’t know most of the artists performing. He said, however, that I was more open to trying new music and allowing myself to get lost in the rhythm this time—compared to our previous experiences where I would shut down if I didn’t immediately warm up to a musician. I suppose it was in the vibe—not only in Joyland itself, but also in my circle—that built up such a fun atmosphere about the festival even before it started. Joyland was like Narnia—you don’t talk about the real world here.
There were a lot of things I noticed about this Joyland that felt significantly different from the previous two I’d attended. For starters, a lot of this year’s artists seem to be heavily instrumental—even AIR, one of the main headliners. As someone who likes to sing along to live performances, it wasn’t really my thing.
Other than that, I also noticed that there were a lot of artists who performed together on stage—like Hyukoh and Sunset Roller Coaster—or performed some of their previous sets—like Efek Rumah Kaca. I wonder if this is meant to signal something, because I notice less performers this time around—everyday started at 3.30 PM at the earliest, while 3 PM was the standard time previously. All in all, however, we did have a tremendously fun time at the festival. So here’s to more Joyland in the future!
Thank you so much for such a beautiful time, Joyland!
Cannot wait for the next lineup teaser!
Afterword
When we were debriefing ourselves—which is something we love to do after a fun event or experience—Agung remarked that I had a lot more fun at this Joyland than ever before. I was surprised to find that impression on him, because I didn’t know most of the artists performing. He said, however, that I was more open to trying new music and allowing myself to get lost in the rhythm this time—compared to our previous experiences where I would shut down if I didn’t immediately warm up to a musician. I suppose it was in the vibe—not only in Joyland itself, but also in my circle—that built up such a fun atmosphere about the festival even before it started. Joyland was like Narnia—you don’t talk about the real world here.
There were a lot of things I noticed about this Joyland that felt significantly different from the previous two I’d attended. For starters, a lot of this year’s artists seem to be heavily instrumental—even AIR, one of the main headliners. As someone who likes to sing along to live performances, it wasn’t really my thing.
Other than that, I also noticed that there were a lot of artists who performed together on stage—like Hyukoh and Sunset Roller Coaster—or performed some of their previous sets—like Efek Rumah Kaca. I wonder if this is meant to signal something, because I notice less performers this time around—everyday started at 3.30 PM at the earliest, while 3 PM was the standard time previously. All in all, however, we did have a tremendously fun time at the festival. So here’s to more Joyland in the future!
Thank you so much for such a beautiful time, Joyland!
Cannot wait for the next lineup teaser!