From the first morning of the Lunar New Year, locals gathered at the Gò Market Spring Festival in Tuy Phước commune to listen to soulful bài chòi verses while moving through the year’s opening market stalls. Artisans including Nguyễn Phú, Kiều My, Huỳnh Thị Điệp and Trần Đình Dư delivered renewed interpretations of the folk tradition, refreshing melodies and crafting new verses while maintaining its rural roots.
According to artisan Kiều My, becoming a skilled “hiệu,” or caller, requires discipline and constant training. She said she adds variety by shifting between melodies such as xuân nữ, xàng xê, hò quảng and xàng xê lụy to keep performances dynamic and engaging.
Festivities continued from the fourth to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year at the “Back to the Heritage Land” bài chòi festival at Phước Hiệp Park in Tuy Phước Bắc commune, where large crowds joined opening new-year calls. Young caller Trần Thị Như Thường, trained through local preservation programs, said the multidisciplinary art form, mixing music, poetry, performance and visual craft—remains a cultural thread connecting communities.
Thường performed across Tuy Phước, Tuy Phước Bắc and at the “Spring Returns to the Ancient Tower” event at Bánh Ít Tower, saying the audience’s attentive response affirmed the enduring vitality of bài chòi in modern life.
In Quy Nhơn’s Nguyễn Tất Thành Square, the festival opened on the second day of the Lunar New Year with crowds surrounding the bamboo huts to listen to witty calls mixed with drums, bamboo clacks and cheers from winners. A visitor from Hanoi said the energy of the performances captivated her even though she was new to the tradition.
Throughout the season, bài chòi continued to resonate at multiple spring events. Artisan couple Trần Hữu Phước and Lê Thị Hoa from Cù Lao Xanh island performed for both residents and travelers, including at a program marking the 237th anniversary of the Ngọc Hồi – Đống Đa victory. Hoa said strong audience engagement motivates artisans to rehearse meticulously, revive old verses and introduce new ones while highlighting local scenery and spring traditions.
With its lively atmosphere and deep cultural roots, the bài chòi festival remains a central feature of Tet celebrations across the Nẫu region. Despite the pace of modern life, the art form continues to anchor communities in their heritage, its rustic calls echoing each spring as a reminder of enduring folk identity.
