Esplanade’s Popaholic festival puts on free pop gigs most evenings from Tuesday, 13 October. Esplanade runs Popaholic 2026 from 1 to 30 October, and all 29 programmes are free.
The festival’s idea is simple: chart hits, viral comeback songs and the pop that Singapore grew up on, played live by singers and bands. The shows split between two spaces. Weeknight sets are mostly on the Esplanade Concourse indoors, at 6.45pm and 7.45pm. Weekend nights move to the DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre by the bay, from 7pm.
Indoor weeknights on the Concourse
These are short sets, two a night, and the line-up leans towards singer-songwriters with a clear angle on the songs they cover.
- Tuesday 13 October: Khalisah Adelias sings Billie Eilish and Hayley Williams covers alongside her own songs.
- Wednesday 14 October: Ralif’s Kota Dalam Kenangan is an evening of Indonesian and Malay city pop, jazz and nostalgia, with classics and original music.
- Thursday 15 October: Raised By Radio has Hidhir and Sano working through a decade of love songs.
- Monday 19 October: in Doomscroll Time!, Masha Nyanna goes through her own For You page for the tunes that shaped her.
- Tuesday 20 October: & ish turns heartbreak and longing into folk-pop in nightly laments.
- Wednesday 21 October: Fusiosonic’s BEYOND BORDERS reworks Tamil and Indian pop hits with Western and world music.
- Thursday 22 October: BANIE’s The Rabbit Hole is bold vocals, pop and R&B.
- Friday 23 October: Love, NurJannah follows butterflies, heartbreak and healing through soulful pop.
Weekend nights at the Outdoor Theatre
The open-air shows start at 7pm, and the Saturday night runs to a third set.
- Friday 16 October: award-winning singer Zalelo and her band revisit early-2000s pop hits with R&B and rock twists in Hello, Zalelo, at 7pm and 8.15pm.
- Saturday 17 October: The Jillets cover a decade of pop, from Avril Lavigne to Sabrina Carpenter, in Pop My Music Cherry!, at 7pm, 8.15pm and 9.30pm.
- Sunday 18 October: Haziqah Hashir leads Rhythm & Pop with Syamim, Iskandar Mazlan and Matt Raham, covering pop and R&B from 2016 to 2026, at 7pm and 8.15pm.
The same Sunday has an indoor option too. The Sugees, a vocal harmony trio, sing hits about love, heartbreak and happily-ever-afters in A Slice of Sugee on the Concourse at 6.45pm and 7.45pm.
How the free shows work
All the Popaholic programmes are free. The Concourse is indoors, while the Outdoor Theatre is open-air on the Marina Bay waterfront. Esplanade MRT station on the Circle Line is the closest stop.
The outdoor sets are open-air, so the weather decides how comfortable a night by the bay is. NEA’s 24-hour PSI readings were in the unhealthy range across the island early on Sunday, so the Concourse shows are the indoor choice for anyone sensitive to the air.
The festival closes on 30 October.
