The best things to do in Bangkok this January

You know the lyric where a West Coast rapper namechecks cities like postcards. LA, Miami, New York, Chicago, Houston, Portland. The chant keeps travelling and now it lands in Bangkok for a night that starts polished and ends less so. SALONE DI VITA has the doors, Hennessy the backing, and it’s all tied to the debut of X.O La Carafe, though nobody pretends the glassware is the headline. The real plot is the familiar slide from composed small talk to sweaty abandon once ‘Rack City’ drops. Expect heels kicked aside, phones raised, dignity quietly checked at the door. It’s the sort of evening that begins with people saying they’ll take it easy and finishes with taxis arguing back. Another tick on the global list, stamped with Bangkok humour.

January 2. Entry is table reservations only. No tickets sold. Reserve via LINE @salonedivita or call/WhatsApp +6683-982-6262 SALONE DI VITA, 9pm

In 2026, Till Lindemann arrives with his Meine Welt Tour, dragging the Big Mango onto a route usually reserved for Europe’s heavier moods. Known to most as Rammstein’s immovable frontman, Lindemann has spent three decades turning volume and theatre into a single language. This solo chapter feels looser, stranger and far more personal. Meine Welt travels through 17 countries before reaching Thailand, carrying an arena show stripped back to its darker instincts. Think steel, sweat and ideas better left unsupervised. If Rammstein resembles a fortified monument, this project feels closer to a confession booth with the door kicked off. Bangkok now sits on that map, bracing for an evening that behaves less like a concert and more like a vivid hallucination you’ll struggle to explain the next day.

January 3. B3,500-10,000 via here. UOB Live, 8pm onwards

Bangkok’s calendar saves its grand manners for early January, when the Royal Concert returns to honour Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya’s birthday. The occasion brings Leonidas Kavakos, a violinist spoken about in hushed, reverent tones, sharing the stage with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra under Valentin Egel. Kavakos carries a reputation built on restraint rather than show, though the 1734 ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius in his hands suggests otherwise. The programme opens with Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila Overture, brisk and theatrical, before Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto takes centre stage. After the interval, Symphony No. 4 follows, heavy with feeling and defiant spirit. Formal, yes, but never stiff, it’s the kind of night that reminds you why dressing up for music still matters.

January 7. B1,000-4,000 via here. Thailand Cultural Centre, 8pm

Salin Cheewapansri’s story bends away from the expected. Raised in Thailand, she left for North America at 20 with a suitcase and a stubborn sense of direction, landing within Canada’s jazz circles as a drummer, producer and songwriter. You might recognise her from that KEXP session, seated behind the kit in traditional Thai dress, tradition and modern rhythm sharing the same frame. Early 2025 marked a homecoming, when she stepped back onto Bangkok stages during Design Week and quietly stole attention. Since releasing her album, she has taken the music across the US and Europe, returning with Rammana, a new project folding afro-jazz, funk and Thai folk together. The result feels personal without trying too hard, which perhaps explains her nod as a CBC 2025 Revelation Artist.

January 9. B1,500-1,800 via here. Lido Connect, 7pm

Bangkok welcomes 2026 with a knowing wink as Muse Anime Festival sets up at JAM SPACE, a familiar meeting point for pop culture devotees. This is less trade fair, more shared obsession. Fourteen anime titles spread across 17 photo zones turn fandom into a walk-through experience, complete with oversized sets and scenes designed for lingering rather than rushing. Expect towering inflatables of Momo and Okarun from DAN DA DAN plus Rimuru, the eternally cheerful slime, looming large for cameras. Beyond the visuals, shelves fill with officially licensed pieces and harder-to-find imports, tempting even the disciplined collector. Food gets its own moment too, thanks to a themed cafe riffing on SPY x FAMILY and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. 

January 10-March 29. Free. 4/F, MBK Centre, 11am-9pm

Wolf Alice returning to Bangkok feels a bit like bumping into an old friend who’s somehow become much cooler since you last met. The band haven’t played Thailand since headlining Mangosteen Music Festival back in 2018, which now feels like another era entirely. Since then, two albums have landed, a Mercury Prize has been picked up for Visions of a Life and their reputation as one of Britain’s sharpest live acts has only hardened. This Asia run stops in Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore, folding songs from the recent ‘The Clearing’ alongside beloved older cuts. Ellie Rowsell remains the quiet force at the centre, slipping from tender reflection to snarling guitar drama without warning. Expect moments that feel intimate, followed by stretches that leave the room slightly breathless and very loud.

January 11. B2,200-2,400 via here. Ambience Space, 7.15pm

January sees FAC51 The Hacienda resurface in Bangkok, slipping quietly into a secret city-centre venue with room for around 2,000 bodies. It’s a nod to the long flirtation between Manchester and Krung Thep, a relationship sparked in the ‘80s and kept alive by those who still dress, dance and listen with intent. Born in 1982, The Haçienda didn’t just host parties, it rewired nightlife, setting templates that cities still borrow from. This edition brings a Bangkok first for Basement Jaxx, the duo who bent dance music sideways at the millennium. 25 years after ‘Rooty’, their DJ sets still feel playful and unruly, hopping between house staples, broken rhythms and carnival-minded twists. Expect sweat, smiles and a crowd that forgets what time it is meant to be.

January 24. B2,600-9,250 via here. Venue to be announced.

Bangkok’s reputation as a concert capital didn’t arrive by accident and the calendar for next year looks just as crowded. Bangkok Music City returns after last year’s strong showing, taking over the Charoenkrung Creative District for two days of business talk and live sound. Thai names lead the charge, with Apartment Khunpa, Bedroom Audio, DEFYING DECAY, Kosum Boy and Lepyutin opening proceedings, joined by artists flying in from across Asia. South Korea sends OWAVE, 87dance, Animal Divers, Milena and SUAUN, while Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam add their own voices. France’s FÜLÜ and Jamaica Moana from Australia and New Zealand stretch the map further. Spread across Bangrak Post Office and Talad Noi, it’s free with registration, which feels quietly generous, or you can skip the queues with a Priority Lane ticket for B350.

January 24-25. Free or B350 for Priority Lane. Central Bangrak Post Office area and Talad Noi district 

Bangkok’s film crowd doesn’t often slow down long enough to gather in one room, which is what makes Asia Pillars: Film Connection quietly appealing. The event pulls together directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors alongside animators, VFX artists and game developers, all under the same roof. Experience levels don’t matter much here. Some guests arrive with decades behind them, others with a single short film and a hopeful look. Around 300 industry names tend to show up, which makes the room feel busy without tipping into awkward. Each edition invites a handful of guest pillars, people worth listening to, though the full line-up drops closer to the date. 

January 27. B500 via here. Viva Aviv The River, 6pm

Bangkok’s design festival returns on a city-wide scale, spreading itself across familiar neighbourhoods from Charoen Krung and Talat Noi to Yaowarat, Bang Lamphu and Phra Khanong-Bang Na. This time, it refuses to stay neatly contained. Exhibitions spill beyond the usual routes, with studios, shops and pop-up spaces joining from all corners of town. The theme, ‘Design S/O/S’, sounds dramatic but lands closer to practical optimism, framing creativity as a tool for getting through uncertain times. It breaks down neatly: Secure Domestic backs local ideas with ambition, Outreach Opportunities nudges Thai work beyond borders, while Sustainable Future asks uncomfortable but necessary questions about what comes next. Even casual wanderers will find plenty to enjoy, not least the excuse to roam some of Bangkok’s most characterful streets. 11 days, zero entry fee and every reason to linger.

January 29-February 8. Free. Charoen Krung-Talat Noi, Phra Nakhon, Pak Khlong Talat, Yaowarat, Bang Pho, Phrom Phong, Hua Lamphong, Bang Lamphu-Khao San and Phra Khanong-Bang Na.