RIF 2020: LASALLE’s Rock & Indie Festival Curates A Weekend Stream Of 19 Local Acts

RIF 2020 boasts fresh acts on its lineup, including Woes, Cravism and Cherry Syrup (Credit: Courtesy of artistes)

While there have been some optimistic developments regarding the resumption of live gigs in Singapore, their actual occurrence has yet to make headway with promoters trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of the umpteen mandatory rules. In the meantime, the scene continues receiving its influx of digital events, and this new one arrives courtesy of the kids from LASALLE College of the Arts, the alma mater of numerous local musicians. Returning for its fourth edition is the Rock & Indie Festival (RIF) on 20 and 21 November, hitting the stream with a lineup of 19 homegrown acts, a whopping number if I do say so myself.

Scenes from RIF 2019 (Credit: RIF Facebook page)

On par with other annual local festivals like Baybeats and IGNITE! Music Festival (also a student-run affair), RIF continues to display an ardent interest in fostering the scene it loves, with a diverse pool of acts handpicked with on-trend precision and reverence for local music history. Open to everyone and free to watch online, RIF isn’t just a treat for its generations of students who call it home, but a gift to the scene as a whole.

Gareth Fernandez (Credit: Courtesy of artiste)

Saints Amongst Sinners (Credit: Courtesy of artiste)

Those familiar with the gig-scape will dig the inclusion of veterans like shoegazers Astreal, soul maestro Tim De Cotta, r&b charmer Gareth Fernandez & The Momma Shop and post-hardcore champions False Plaintiff, adding star power to the campus spectacle. Trust the young’uns to know who’s buzzing in the ranks lately, and in that aspect, RIF exhibits plenty of fresh blood who are getting the rare platform to perform; including the likes of Cherry Syrup, NYH, Saints Amongst Sinners, CIRQA, and LASALLE’s own, Building Fire. And to sweeten the deal, RIF has managed to rope in other prominent names such as FXTRT, Subsonic Eye, Woes, and Marian Carmel.

Building Fire (Credit: Courtesy of artiste)

Ilina Hats (Credit: Courtesy of artiste)

If you don’t know a few of these names, rest assured you’re not alone. Discovery of the unknown is just one of the many beauties of a music festival, and RIF is a hopeful example of one.