Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival announces return post-1975 turmoil: “We’re not going to let this one bad incident ruin everything”

nme.com:

Good Vibes Festival (GVF) has announced its return this July after being cancelled last year due to controversies surrounding The 1975 – see the line-up and more below.In July last year, Good Vibes Festival made international headlines after it was forced to cancel its second and third days due to The 1975’s headlining slot on night one.

During their headline show on the opening night of the three-day event, frontman Matty Healy criticised the Malaysian government and its anti-LGBTQ laws onstage and then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald, prompting their set to be cut short.

The band quickly left the country after, and the rest of the festival was cancelled.Today (May 8), Future Sound Asia’s Good Vibes Festival is announcing its comeback, set to take place on July 20 and 21 at the Resorts World Awana in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

The festival is due to feature performances from the likes of J Balvin, Peggy Gou, Joji, BIBI and more, as well as returning Malaysian acts who had their performances cut from the 2023 event.NME spoke to Wan Alman, Future Sound Asia’s Director of Entertainment about Good Vibes’ comeback, overcoming the fallout of 2023’s events with The 1975 and the state of the Malaysian live music industry.