The 79-year-old singer, best known for the hits “Lady” and “The Gambler,” has been “working through a series of health challenges,” his management said in a statement.

“His doctors fully expect the outcome to be great, but they have advised him to cancel all performances through the end of the year to focus on recuperation,” it said.

Rogers, whose easygoing ballads have won him a fan base well beyond the country world, spent much of the past two years on a tour that culminated in a star-studded farewell concert in October in Nashville.

He scrapped dates that were to include two nights at the Beacon Theatre in New York and an appearances at the Stagecoach country festival in California.

“I didn’t want to take forever to retire,” Rogers said in the statement.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to say farewell to fans over the course of the past two years,” he said, adding that he could “never properly thank them for the encouragement and support they’ve given me throughout my career.”

The Texas-born singer came to prominence through his collaborations with Dolly Parton and his appearances on film and television programs, especially “The Muppet Show.”

He has found mainstream appeal by bringing rockabilly and jazz touches to his light country songs, as well as by recording popular renditions of Christmas favorites.

Rogers, who has been married five times, said when announcing the final tour that he wanted to spend more time with his family including twin sons who are now 13.

While primarily active in the United States, he is the namesake of a chicken restaurant chain that remains active in Asia and the Middle East after closing down at home.

The 120-member group including top girlband Red Velvet flew from Seoul’s Gimpo airport aboard a chartered civilian flight to Pyongyang via the rarely used direct air route between the two Koreas, as a rapprochement on the peninsula gathers pace.

“This performance in Pyongyang will add momentum to inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation that resumed with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics” in the South, said Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, who led the group.

Under the theme title “Spring is Coming”, South Korean musicians will perform a concert in Pyongyang Sunday before a joint show with North Korean artists at the capital’s 12,000-seat Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium on Tuesday.

While in Pyongyang, Do said, he will meet with North Korean officials to discuss further cultural and sports exchanges between the two Koreas that have restarted after a decade-long hiatus.

The two rivals on Friday agreed a date for next month’s inter-Korean summit — the third ever of its kind following 2000 and 2007 meetings — at Panmunjom truce village on the heavily fortified border on April 27.

Following the meeting between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and the South’s president Moon Jae-in, landmark talks are planned between Kim and US President Donald Trump, which could come by the end of May.

The rapid rapprochement was kicked off by last month’s Winter Olympics in the South and comes after a year of heightened tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes, which saw Kim and Trump engage in a fiery war of words.

Together with athletes and cheerleaders, the North sent musicians led by Hyon Song Wol — founder of the country’s popular Moranbong band — to the South to celebrate the Games.

The shows in the North — the first of which will take place at the 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theater on Sunday — will be taped and edited by a South Korean video crew to be made into a joint TV programme for both countries, Yonhap news agency said.

– ‘Love Maze’ –

The South Korean musicians taking part include singers and bands from a variety of genres, ranging from traditional folk songs to trendier K-pop, while some 20 taekwondo performers have also travelled.

Among those due to perform are Cho Yong-pil, the influential 68-year-old “King” of K-pop who performed a solo concert in Pyongyang in 2005, and Choi Jin-hee, 61, who took to the stage in the North in 1999, 2002 and 2005.

Her 1984 mega hit “Love Maze” was reported to be late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s favourite song, and is credited with helping South Korean pop culture gain a following in the socialist state.

Love Maze is often heard playing in Pyongyang restaurants, with its romantic lyrics altered to adulation of their leader.

Top K-pop girlband Red Velvet will also perform in Pyongyang, venturing onto stages more traditionally occupied by North Korea’s own mega girl group the Moranbong band, who are famous for their fast-paced patriotic songs.

Joy, one of the five-member Red Velvet group, will miss the trip to Pyongyang due to her TV drama shooting schedule, their agency SM Entertainment said.

Seohyun, a 26-year-old star from K-pop group Girl’s Generation, will act as a master of ceremony for the events in Pyongyang.

She made a surprise appearance alongside a North Korean classical music ensemble during their performance in Seoul last month.

Many North Korean defectors say they have seen South Korean TV dramas and heard K-pop music through blackmarket USB drives in the North despite an official ban on the “decadent capitalist culture”.

Manufactured stars and starlets – idols as they are known – have been around since pop culture started, with Japan leading the way in turning young and cute adolescents into idol groups – think Morning Musume and AKB48.

Now Thailand has got into the act, shaping teens into singers and marketing them as role models for their peers. And the youngsters are loving it, turning out en masse for their shows and public appearances and hanging on to their every word.

“It really came into the spotlight here a couple of years ago when the Japanese government started pushing Japanese content in Asia in an attempt to reclaim the throne from South Korea, which had captured the Thai market through TV series and K-pop for more than a decade,” says Wim Manopimok, chief executive of Yoshimoto Entertainment Thailand, a joint venture with Yoshimoto Kogyo, one of Japan’s biggest entertainment conglomerates.

“Being an idol in former times meant being untouchable or unreachable and only being seen TV and in magazines. But after the launch of AKB48 in Akihabara, Tokyo, in 2005, the concept changed and became much more down to earth, with the members becoming approachable – kind of the ‘girl next door’.”

Indeed AKB48 did much to pull Japan’s music industry out of the doldrums in the early 2010s. In 2011, the increase of CD sales in Japan was a sharp contrast to the decline in the world. Fired up by its popularity, the group expanded into sister projects, which were similar to AKB48 but in different locations, such as Nagoya’s SKE48, Okayama’s STU48, Niigata’s NGT48, and Osaka’s NMB48. Soon AKB48 had become popular all over Japan and spawned other sister groups abroad, among them JKT48 in Jakarta, SNH48 in Shanghai, BNK48 in Bangkok, TPE48 in Taipei, and MNL48 in Manila.

AKB48 became one of the highest-earning musical performers in Japan and was characterised as a social phenomenon.

Like other national and international sister groups, Thailand’s BNK48 follows the same format. Launched in early 2017 by Jirat Bawornwatana, executive chairman of Rose Artist Management, the Thai idol girl group, which is made up of 26 carefully selected members, has helped the local music scene recover after several years of stagnation.

The public can’t get enough of BNK48. The girls are constantly in the media, at events and attending product launches. The group has so far been the presenters for True Move H, Fuji Film, AP Honda, Jele Beautie, and Yayoi as well as being shown as a major supporter of Thailand’s National Football Team Changsuek.

“The platform of AKB48 is ‘idols you can meet’ and merchandise – usually a free ticket for a handshake or concert event – is given along with their CDs to boost total sales. In fact, AKB48 was initially created to be the presenter of various Japanese products including cars, motorcycles and drinks,” says Wim, who has made Sweat 16 into his talent agency’s first idol group.

“The idol is a role model that people can follow and dream about being equally as successful. Each role model must have her – or his – own path. No one was born perfect. We all have to fight for our dreams. Being an idol isn’t only showing off an ability to sing, dance and perform. It’s also about attitude, thoughts and goals in life. It’s about encouraging each other. That’s why fans are passionate about BNK48 and follow them so closely,” explains Pongchuk “Ae” Pissathaporn, who is responsible for BNK48.

“Idols and artists are not the same. An artist can prove himself with his work, but an idol proves him or herself through his/her efforts. Not every member is perfect at singing and dancing but all of them work to overcome obstacles.”

Wim considers AKB48 and BNK48 as platforms, pointing out that they sell themselves through CDs and performances.

“While BNK48 follows the same bible as AKB48, Sweat 16 is freer. We don’t want our 13 members to dedicate themselves to the band 120 per cent because they have their different daily lives. I want to see the best worker, the best student, the best daughter, or even the best member in order to inspire other girls. I need Sweat 16 to build this platform.”

Musically, BNK48 and Sweat 16 cover Japanese singles. BNK48’s songs are from AKB48, with the lyrics translated into Thai and the music rearranged to suit their style.

For example, BNK48’s song “Cookie Siangthai”, which is taken from AKB48’s “Koisuru Fortune Cookie”, quickly became popular, with just about every teenager in the land knowing the line “aeb mong ther yoo na ja”, meaning “I’m secretly watching you”.

“This song is about myth and prophecy. The first step is to translate the lyrics in an essay format then adjust them so that they conform to our grammar, adding Thai idioms and tone marks. ‘Aeb mong ther yoo na ja’ quickly caught on. The words are optimistic and the touch the heart. And we’ve worked on the choreography too,” says Ae, who has team up with other songwriters such as Boy Trai Bhumirat, Stamp, Lipta, Pe Mind, Golf Superbaker, and Waan Thanakrit.

“Sweat 16’s first two songs are ‘Wing’ (‘Run’) and ‘Moongming’ (‘Love Attention’), which are covers of Japanese songs. The next singles will be penned and composed by Boyd Kosiyabong and Suthee Sangsereechon before being arranged by a Japanese engineer in the idol style. I would like Thailand to have Thai songs for Thai idols,” says Wim.

Like AKB48, BNK48 has a campus. The idol group has taken over part of the fourth floor of The Mall Bang Kapi and turned it into a theatre for their shows, rehearsals, instruction and recreation. Both BNK48 and Sweat 16 will go on a nationwide tour soon and Sweat 16 has already been booked to perform at the 2018 Okinawa International Movie Festival 2018 in Okinawa from April 19 to 22.

And now boy idols groups are making an appearance. 4Nologue’s chief executive Anuwat “Wutt” Wichiennarat has recruited nine boys – Thanapob “Tor” Leeratanakajorn, Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo, Chonlathorn “Captain” Kongyingyong, Lapas “Third” Ngamchaweng, Sivakorn “Porche” Adulsuttikul, Jakrin “Jackie” Kangwankiertichai, Kritsanapoom “JJ Pibulsonggram, Pharis “Ice” Intharakomal, and Chisanucha “Mew” Tantimedh, for his group, Nine by Nine, or 9×9.

“I’m very excited to see the popularity of BNK48,” he says.

“We would like to build an idol group that can perform to international standards – good singing, good dancing and good performance.

“Nine by Nine is a pilot crossover project in cooperation with Nadao Bangkok and GMM Grammy’s MBO and we will be taking the lads to perform across the Asean countries when they are ready.”

So Who’s Your Idol?

– Keep updated on BNK48’s movements at http://www.Bnk48.com/#/home

– Follow updates on Sweat 16 at http://Sweat16official.com/

– To find out more about Nine by Nine, check out Facebook.com/4NOLOGUE/

The much-loved “badmouthing trio” of Aof Pongsak, Pop Pongkool and Wan Thanakrit was back on stage last weekend for the fifth episode of the popular “Sam Yaek Pak Wan” (Junction of Badmouths) show and while the lads hinted that this could be the last, they were in such fine form that the audience could well launch a petition demanding they return.

This time around, they were joined by another singer who is well known for his occasional foul language, Pramote “Oat” Pathan.

That was no doubt one of the reasons why the “Sam Yaek Pak Wan, 3 Plus 1” quartet found it so easy to lift the badmouthing to the next level.

The four spent most of the long, long show making fun of other people. This year’s “victims” included Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, whose lifesize cardboard cutout was brought onstage for a “group photo” with the quartet. Apparently on loan from the organisers of this Children’s Day event at Government House, it served as an ideal prop for Pop to voice questions that most of us dare not – and do it not just once but twice. “Will there be an election?” he asked the cut out. “Is it time for us to have an election?” Perhaps he doesn’t fully believe the junta leader’s promise that the next election will be held “no later than” February next year.

Other verbal attacks were directed at each other, as well as at fellow singers, colleagues and bosses at GMM – in fact anyone, especially audience members who happened to show up late. They also cracked jokes about some hot social issues and high-profile events, among them were the Bt30-million lottery ownership row, the wristwatch scandal involving a key government figure, the “angry axe-wielding auntie” drama, and the slaughter of a black leopard linked to a business tycoon. The jokes were made in the form of cleverly altered lyrics of the song “Wan Nueng Chan Doen Khao Pa” (“Into the Woods”).

Due to the high demand for tickets, three rounds of the show were held this time round, up from two last year, and each of them packed Royal Paragon Hall to the gills.

Audience members who needed to leave the hall to answer the call of nature or stretch their legs tended to do so during the songs, presumably worried that they would miss out on the entertaining repartee.

And despite featuring some 20 songs, the concert really did focus more on comedy than music with a constant stream of funny sketches and jokes that were occasionally dirty and cruel. Fans of the television programme of the same name on GMM 25 channel, which is co-hosted by Aof, Pop and Wan, might well be familiar with many of the jokes and gags performed during the latest “Sam Yaek Pak Wan” episode. But being on stage rather than in a studio gave the foursome many more opportunities to use expletives.

Applause was also loud and long for the songs. In their solo segment, which was billed as the “best part of the concert”, the four singers wowed the crowd with their powerful crooning. Backed by the Extra Band, they also covered many popular songs, including “Koisuru Fortune Cookie” by all-girl band BNK48 and “Sang Sud Tai” (“Last Ray”) by rockers Bodyslam, adding to the enjoyment by dressing and performing like the original artists.

During the last round on Sunday night, which ran for more than three-and-a-half hours, Ben Chalathit and Two Popetorn were the quartet’s guests. Ben, an out-of-the-closet gay, appeared in a period costume and hairdo similar to those of the lead heroine from the popular TV soap opera “Love Destiny” and performed “Buppe Sanniwat”, the soundtrack of the period drama. The handsome Two was greeted with shrieks from his mostly female fans while singing his hit “Tae Yang Kid Thueng” (“But I Still Miss You”).

The concert was well balanced between singing and talking and was the perfect opportunity for people looking for entertainment to help “reset their mood” and soothe the stresses of everyday life.

American singer-songwriter John Legend seemed to have left some subtle messages while entertaining the audience during his first concert in Bangkok last Friday.

More than a few songs performed that evening were accompanied by the screening of video regarding racial issues. Messages such as “Black Lives Matter” and “Freedom Now” were shown, along with black-and-white footage of assassinated civil-rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr.

“Glory”, an award-winning number co-written by Legend for the movie “Selma”, was one of those songs. It was the finale, beautifully performed, to his “Darkness and Light” concert at Bitec. The venue – the 9,200-seat Hall 106 – was packed with his local fans, including many expatriates.

Another song with a message was “Wake Up Everybody”, which was performed with documentary video of street protests against racial inequality.

Legend, whose real name is John Roger Stephens, entertained the fans with his singing, dancing and piano playing backed by eight musicians and three other singers. Bangkok was the last leg of his Asian tour, which had taken him to China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The numbers performed during the two-hour concert came from Legend’s many albums, from the 2004 debut “Get Lifted” to “Darkness and Light”, released in 2016. The tracks included “I Know Better”, “Love Me Now”, “Save the Night”, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”, Ordinary People” and the title tune, “Darkness and Light”.

The 39-year-old singer and his squad also satisfied their Thai fans with hits like “Save Room”, “We Just Don’t Care”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “All of Me” – the last of which he saved for the encore.

Legend formed “All of Me” solo at the piano, with many audience members singing along. It was one of many mesmerising moments during the show organised by Neekrung Connects.

Thanks to his powerful voice, Legend sang beautifully both in the high range and baritone. He also did equally well with both fast-paced and slow songs. Moreover, the three women backup singers played an important role in enlivening the concert – dancing in unison, singing full of energy and even taking Legend’s place in the spotlight while he was taking a break and changing outfits.

Legend’s parting song before the encore was “You & I”, which was performed with video of his half-Thai wife Chrissy Teigen and their year-old daughter Luna.

Chrissy’s mother showed up onstage before the start of the concert and introduced the singer to the crowd. It was a rare thing for a mother-in-law to do at any concert. Legend joked later on Instagram, posting a video clip of his mother-in-law speaking to the audience in Thai, “I’ll find out what she said later.”

It was a concert full of affection and fun. The singer told his audience, “I feel the love tonight, Bangkok. Do you feel it?” In another Instagram message he said, “We had so much fun!” A lot of his fans here will remember his promise to make a comeback.

Leading Italian jazz saxophonist Daniele Sepe is coming to Bangkok with his quartet and will take the stage at The Living Room of the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit on Wednesday night from 8. Inspired by everything from funk, Mediterranean melodies to rap, his debut solo album, “Mulamusica  Il Parco”, was compared to the innovative recordings of Frank Zappa and Nino Rota while music from his 1994 album “Vite Perdite” was used by filmmaker Mario Martone.

Book a table at (02) 649 8353 or email dining.sgs@luxurycollection.com.

Home for the holidays

DJ duo Rave Radio jet into Bangkok to up the ante for Bangkok residents celebrating Songkran at Levels Club on Sukhumvit Soi 11 on April 12. After releasing “Rumble” in 2015, the duo attracted widespread support from industry heavyweights Martin Garrix, Hardwell, David Guetta, Dyro & Laidback Luke and has become known for their synth-heavy, quirky bassdriven sound,

Find out more by calling (082) 308 3246.

Figaro’s folly

Italian contemporary dance troupe Artemis Danza marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Gioachino Rossini by staging a thoroughly modern version of his “Barber of Seville”, at Thailand Cultural Centre’s small hall tonight at 7.30pm.

Part of the Italian Festival 2018, admission to the show is free but registration is required at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/ilbarbieredisivigliatributetogioachinorossinitickets41619988506.

Rock around the clock

The Olarn Project, Silly Fools and Dax, Ebola, Sweet Mullet, Dezember, Retrospect, Kluaythai, Mad Pack It, Brandnew Sunset, Annalynn, Bomb at Track, Dose, Hopeless and Overdose are among the artists who’ll be rocking the fourth edition of Paradise Fest taking place at Oasis Arena of Show DC on Rama IX Road on May 5 from noon to midnight.

Tickets costing Bt700 are now available at http://www.AllTicket.com.

Blue in a trance

German trance DJ and producer Cold Blue mans the decks at Club SX on the sixth floor of the Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit tonight from 9pm until late. He will be supported by residents DJs from the TLT crew.

Find out more at (02) 171 5299.

 The winners were announced on Friday night at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“First of all, I would like to thank all Thais for their continued support, enthusiasm, dedication and passion and for voting for me in these two categories. For this competition, I created a Thai cultural show based around my song, ‘Nang Nual’ and have been working very hard on it for the last four months. These awards have made my exhaustion disappear,” said Keng, who beat competitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.

“During my show, I glanced over at the foreign audience for a few seconds and saw their smiles at my show. It was such a pleasure to put across Thainess,” he added.

The music shows of HKAMF 2018, the mega music event in Asia, featured performances by top recording artists from eight Asian nations, namely Phibian (Wang Hao) and CJ Swag (Chi Yuehan) from the Chinese boy band M.I.C, Hong Kong’s Supper Moment, Taiwan’s Lala Hsu, Japan’s Mika Nakashima, South Korea’s BtoB, Singapore’s Kewei Tay, Thailand’s Jannine Weigel and Noo Phuoc Thinh from Vietnam.

This year’s theme, “Music in one Asia +”, aimed to show the great strides the Asian pop-music scene has made in recent years. Given the opportunity of having Asian recording artistes converge in Hong Kong for performances and exchange of ideas, the organiser expanded the coverage of Asian music to Vietnam. The music business forum this year was dedicated to exploring this new market and was entitled “A New Page for Asian Music – The Vietnamese-pop Scene”, where music professionals meet to exchange and share ideas in building Asia as one music market.

Exo, one of South Korea’s hottest boy bands, packed out Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani for all three of their “Exo Planet 4 – The Elyxion” concerts last weekend, their popularity here evident from the way the 30,000 tickets available for the shows were snapped up in less than five minutes of going on sale.

“Elyxion means heaven for the chosen and we would like everyone to feel that this concert hall is like heaven, and all of you are the chosen ones,” Baekhyun told the media before the last concert on Sunday.

“We would like to give all Thai Exo-L fans a round of applause because you are so great. We have worked hard and put a lot of efforts into our songs and shows in order to thank to everyone. The secret of our success is Exo-L,” said Chen.

The fans obeyed their idols’ instructions to the letter, turning out in the floral shirts more usually associated with Songkran to gain admission to their heaven for the night.

The hall was all aglow with white lightsticks held by the audience and my head felt like it was about to burst when 10,000 shrill female screams broke through the sound barrier as Xiumin, Suho, Chanyeol, D.O, Kai, Baekhyun, Chen and Lay appeared on stage. Clad in white, the lads swung into their hits “The Eve”, “Forever”, “Ko Ko Bop” and “Growl” and ended the set with a dance battle between Xiumin and Baekhyun. As they exited the stage, the LCD screens took over, telling the story of the band.

After the second video and Kai’s solo, the eight, now attired in formal three-piece suits, returned to a stage that had been transformed into a classy jazz bar to perform a second set that included “Call Me Baby”, “Touch It”, and “Chill”. That ended with D.O playing a grand piano on an English version of “For Life”.

The group took a quick break to introduce themselves to the crowd and drew even louder screams as they attempted to speak Thai, and winning applause when both Chanyeol and Baekhyun slipped in some dialogue from Channel 3’s hottest TV period drama “Buppesannivas.”

The group continued with “Boomerang” and “Lotto”, before breaking into the subunit featuring Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin for a performance of “Ka-Ching!”. Suho went solo for “Playboy” and Chanyeol rapped in “Hands”.

In the second half of the concert, Exo separated into four groups moving slowly across the stage in carts and tossing signed plastic balls to the audience as they brought the tempo down with mellow tracks “Cloud 9”, “ What U Do”, “Tender Love”, and “Walk On Memories”, before Chen went solo for “Heaven.”

The final segment saw the hall morph into a dance hall with a set that included upbeat tracks “Diamond”, “Coming Over”, “Run This”, “Drop That” and “Power”.

Fans quickly started chanting for an encore singing along to an instrumental version of “For Life” before Exo returned with “Don’t Go” and “Angel” and a promise to come back to Thailand soon.

The funk classics of Kool and the Gang have found eternal life in everything from stadium pump-up songs to hiphop samples to wedding parties. Yet more than 50 years after forming, the group itself has hardly slowed down.

“We do about 100 shows a year, all around the world, in every place you could imagine,” Ronald Bell, one of four founding members of the group who is still active, said as Kool and the Gang passed through New York.

Hailing from just across the Hudson River in Jersey City, Kool and the Gang has toured North America, Europe and Asia incessantly, sometimes playing three or four shows in a single weekend.

The group has also found fans playing in countries less frequented by US musicians including Algeria, Cuba, Kenya, Peru and Uganda.

“That is phenomenal to me, to have that music cross all cultures like that,” Bell says.

“To me, that’s unexplainable. I had nothing to do with that. That’s the Creator. Music is a universal language,” adds the 66-year-old convert to Islam.

On a recent Friday night at the BB King Blues Club and Grill near Times Square, fans – some of them young – were singing along to “Fresh” before the lyrics to the song even started.

Other hits of Kool and the Gang include “Celebration” – which has become a standard at New Year’s Eve parties and in stadiums – and the dance-floor favourite “Jungle Boogie.”

JT Taylor, the frontman from 1978 to 1988 when Kool and the Gang enjoyed its commercial peak, is no longer the face of the group, but the latest singer, Walt Anderson, resembles him both in appearance and voice.

Kool and the Gang has achieved its staying power by remaining foremost a collection of musicians, whose roots are in the hardworking world of jazz rather than celebrity pop.

“I wanted to be like John Coltrane and the trumpet player wanted to be Miles Davis,” says Bell, a saxophonist whose first group was called the Jazziacs.

“We transitioned to Kool and the Gang when we found we could make some money doing this.”

Kool and the Gang, whose members started playing as a group in 1964, brought together jazz with the sounds of soul, Motown and funk. But the style has shifted over the years from largely instrumental works in the 1970s such as “Jungle Boogie” as well as “Open Sesame” and “Summer Madness” before Taylor came in as a vocalist.

The group’s initial sound provided a rich base for early hiphop which sampled liberally from Kool and the Gang – who had little say in the matter and initially earned nothing from rap tracks.

“One time I listened to Tribe (Called Quest) and I heard a solo in there. I said: ‘Wait a minute, that’s me playing!’“

“It’s an honour. I love hip-hop. It’s the music of the time,” he says.

He has more mixed feelings about modern-day pop artists. He broadly appreciates the revival of old-school funk represented by Bruno Mars, the 32-year-old who was the big winner at the latest Grammy Awards.

“Bruno Mars sounds like Bruno Mars but he sound like everything we already heard,” Bell muses.

“The rap artists are a little more inspirational.”

Singer Erykah Badu, he adds, sounds a lot like the late Billie Holiday.

Still, he credits Mars for his success and notes that Kool and the Gang were hardly innovators in their time.

“It’s not different as us taking the ’50s and ’60s jazz music,” he admits.

“Every generation picks from the generation preceding. It’s like passing the baton.”

Ronald Bell only occasionally joins on stage these days but his elder brother, 67-year-old bassist Robert “Kool” Bell, has missed only two concerts in 50 years, according to Ronald.

Ronald Bell still tours with the band, helping out with the production and working on a documentary about the group. He also continues to write.

“I have over 1,000 songs now,” he says. “When they plant me in the ground as a flower, you can hear them.”

The St Regis Bangkok will be presenting young violin talents from the Viemus Music School on March 31, led by five-year-old Aya from the TV show “Pinkie Friends”. The Little Artist Series is part of Western Afternoon Tea, which costs Bt1,500-plus for two persons, and Thai Afternoon Tea (Bt950). Acclaimed British-Malaysian pianist Mitra Alice Tham will perform on April 1, when admission will be Bt990plus. Learn more at (02) 207 7799 and http://www.StRegis.com/bangkok.

Got you covered

Live Lounge Bangkok in the Trendy Building on Sukhumvit Soi 13 is amassing three great cover bands on March 29, coinciding with the City of Angels ice-hockey tournament. Super-Massive (Muse tribute), Haasip-Haasip (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and the Sonic Moons, most of whose members used to play in the hockey-oriented band Five Hole. Get the details on the SuperMassiveBKK and Haasip Facebook pages.

Join up with Junior

DJ Junior, a resident at Taipei nightclub Elektro, will perform at Insanity on Sukhumvit Soi 11 on March 30. He’s played major regional events including Ultra Music Festival Korea and Japan, Wow Music Festival Malaysia and Storm Festival Shanghai. In Bangkok he’ll be jamming with DJ Kyle Harrison. Book a table at (082) 731 8885.

Structural testing

DJs Mark Broom, Sarit and Christian Vance aka H4L will have De Commune jumping on March 31. Techno and house will christen the new undergroundmusic venue at Liberty Plaza starting at 8pm. Admission is Bt350, rising to Bt500 at 10pm. Dive deeper at (088) 419 7380.

Let’s put on a show!

High-school musicians have a chance to win Bt200,000 and Gold City shoes in the Gold City Thailand Band Knockout on May 31. To qualify, bands must have 12 members or less with a live performance of self-produced songs posted on YouTube. The music theme is “Let’s Go: Sai Lui Mai Khui Hai Sia Wela”. Send the link to goldcity.tbk2018@gmail.com. Grab an application form at http://www.GoldCityShop.com.