The best things to do in Bangkok this weekend (November 5-8)

If your knowledge of Thai beer starts and ends with a big bottle of Leo in a bucket of ice, ICONSIAM has a good reason to broaden your horizons. Flavors & Glow by the River brings together 15 craft breweries, 15 community distilleries and more than 50 other local producers across two weeks, with makers running their own stalls. November 1-8 focuses on craft beer, cider and fermented drinks; November 9-15 switches to community-made drinks including sato, gin, rum and cocktails with Thai ingredients. Mahidol University’s College of Music supplies the live soundtrack. students, too.

The separate Blessing Tree light show runs at 6.30pm, 7.30pm and 8.30pm at River Park on the ground floor. November 1-15. Free entry. ICONSIAM Park, second floor, ICONSIAM. 4pm-10pm daily.

Planning a trip to Wonderfruit this December? Here’s your heads-up: the November Sale opened on November 3 at 4pm and runs until November 9. It's the final public sale for five-day full passes and weekend passes before the festival’s 11th edition returns to The Fields at Siam Country Club near Pattaya on December 3-7. A weekend pass costs B11,500 and a five-day pass B12,900. Any remaining door tickets will cost B15,000 and B20,000 respectively, subject to availability. Your bank balance would prefer you made the decision now.

November Sale: November 3-9. Book passes via Ticketmelon. Festival venue: The Fields at Siam Country Club, Chonburi.

DIAGE Festival’s October 31-November 1 music programme has finished, but its post-festival installation exhibition is listed to continue at Cloud 11. The highlights include NONOTAK’s 66 beams of light cutting through fog to a percussion soundtrack, Fabrizio Di Salvo’s rotating musical machine and Wit Pimkanchanapong’s woven structure playing with light and shadow. Other installations tackle air pollution and the pace of modern life. Go on, have a play – check which of the seven advertised works remain available before visiting. 

November 2-15. Cloud 11, second floor. Listed as free entry, noon-10pm.

Fancy making music or finding a bandmate? JAMBOX x Asia Pillars Music Connection #09 returns to Marshall Livehouse for an open jam and a spot of industry mingling. Organisers expect more than 150 musicians, music professionals and fans, with players rotating on stage to improvise across genres and instruments. Musicians of all experience levels can join in. The networking session also brings together venue owners, label representatives, promoters and booking agents, so you might leave with a useful contact as well as a tune stuck in your head.

November 5. B300. Marshall Livehouse, Charoen Krung 36. 7pm-11pm. Age 20+. Tickets and registration.

Four nights, four clubs and a crew of Manila DJs on Bangkok’s dancefloors. SAYAW DHEE KA, billed as a collaboration between Manila party collective Thank You For The Music (TYFM) and Bangkok’s More Rice Records, is advertised for November 5-8 at Clutch Bar, Bar Temp, Elsewhere and HORN. The supplied bill includes Shrugs, Duality, Adri Malaki and Horseboyy, alongside Sarayu, Jirus and DOTT. Sayaw is Filipino for dance; the Thai-inspired second half gives the name its cross-city wordplay. Check TYFM and each venue for the nightly schedule, final artist spellings and tickets before plotting your route. 

November 5-8. Clutch Bar, Bar Temp, Elsewhere and HORN.

Pack a picnic mat and mosquito spray: the Chula Open-Air Cinema Festival returns for its third edition at Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, the sloping green space off Banthat Thong Road. A big outdoor screen handles the films, with folk singers,  bands, tarot readings and live art also advertised, plus activities exploring social issues. It’s a good excuse to linger after dinner in the neighbourhood. Check Chulaklangplaeng for the film line-up and final timings.

November 6. Free admission. Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park. Advertised hours: 4pm-10pm. Follow Chulaklangplaeng for updates.

Freestyle rap meets reggae on the Chao Phraya as Bangkok Riddim Syndicate launches its first riverside session at Bangkok Island. Hip hop, reggae, dancehall and dub underpin MCing in different languages, with the  boat docked opposite Bang Krachao. Owners Yuval and Rainny handle the decks, with Selecta and KatahToni named on the bill. Three MCs take the mic: UK-born Klynton, who has Jamaican roots, US freestyle rapper Vicky Brozay and Thai rapper 11 Fingers, known for his activism and documentary appearances. Arrive before 8pm and entry won’t cost you a baht. 

November 6. Free before 8pm; B300 including one drink after. Bangkok Island Pier, Rama 3 Soi 64. 6pm-midnight.

Rotterdam’s queer Southeast Asian duo Animistic Beliefs bring their restless electronic sound to NON NON NON at HORN in Silom Soi 4. Mara Lalihatu and Linh Luu draw on their Moluccan and Vietnamese-Chinese roots, moving between experimental electronics, bass, breaks and harder club sounds. Their festival appearances include Rewire, Dekmantel and CTM. This time it’s a DJ set, with JUIINT also on the bill and Issypeople playing back-to-back with Sriracha Czaddy. That’s plenty of room for the night to take an unexpected turn.

November 6. Online: B500 without a drink or B600-B700 including one drink; B750 at the door including one drink. HORN, Silom Soi 4. 10pm-3am.  Age 20+. Tickets here.

Dessert first, plans later. 126 Sweet Club at Samyan fills Slowcombo with sweet treats and small souvenirs for three days. Stay after your sugar fix for DJ Mamao on November 6, 5pm-7pm, a screening of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason on November 7, 4pm-6pm or K’Puean live on November 8, 4pm-6pm. Drop by between errands or settle in for an afternoon with a friend. The main programme is listed by Time Out Thailand; check Slowcombo’s final schedule for those individual set and screening times.

November 6-8. Free entry. Living Space, first floor, Slowcombo, Samyan. 10am-8pm.

BIGBANG bring their 2026-2027 world tour XX : COSMOS to Rajamangala National Stadium for two nights. After a long break from major touring, the K-pop group’s return has Bangkok on a route spanning Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The tour opened at Goyang Stadium on August 21-23, with an itinerary that includes Oakland, East Rutherford, Paris, London, Taipei, Singapore, Hanoi, Sydney and Hong Kong, plus Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Fukuoka. Bangkok’s second show on November 8 was added after the original November 7 date. Check official ticket availability before committing to the stadium trip. 

November 7-8. Standard tickets B2,900-B8,500; VIP packages B9,500-B11,900 via ThaiTicketMajor. Rajamangala National Stadium. 7pm both nights.

Fancy giving your phone a couple of hours off? Bangkok Offline Reading Club invites you to bring a paperback or e-reader for quiet reading and conversation. Organised by BKKLITFEST, this post-Halloween edition welcomes costumes inspired by favourite authors and literary characters, though dressing up is optional. Bring books to swap if you like. After reading time, the group splits into smaller circles to chat about literature, art and culture. Keep your phone switched off or on silent – the next chapter can have your undivided attention.

November 7. Free admission; advance registration required. Public House Sukhumvit 31. 4pm-6pm. Register here.

If one dancefloor isn’t enough, DUAL has two under the same roof. Sacristy brings AXCIID and CASSANDRAH to Bangkok for their Thai debut, joined by returning favourite NØSYNC, THE3RD and REIKS, whose slower, hypnotic opening selection eases you towards the heavier sounds. One ticket covers Sacristy’s dark room, strobes and Funktion-One Evolution Series sound system, plus DUAL’s own dancefloor. Respect the house rules: no hate, discrimination or flash photography.

November 7. Individual online tickets B400-B600, subject to release; B700 at the door. Three-person group ticket B1,600. The B200 community allocation is sold out and B300 early-bird sales have ended. DUAL, Trinity Complex, Soi Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra 3. 9pm-4am. Age 20+. Tickets and details.

Molam, psychedelic sounds and indie guitars share the stage at Common Signal, a one-night showcase of five acts from Thailand’s independent music scene. Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band, bring their take on traditional Isaan music alongside neo-molam act Makara, H3F, Dot.Dot.Dot and NTFOLK. If your playlists jump between Thai folk and guitar-led sounds, there’s good reason to stay for the full bill. 

November 7. B950; B700 early-bird tickets sold out. Volume Livehouse, B Floor, The Street Ratchada. 5pm-11pm. Tickets here.

Put your phone down, pull up a chair and see how you handle a little friendly competition. TK Board Game Club returns to centralwOrld for a Sunday meet-up, with November’s treasure-hunt theme sending players across the sea, sky and underground. The games include Deep Sea Adventure, Niagara, Forbidden Island and The Vale of Eternity, with options for newcomers and seasoned players. Drop by any time, pick a game and find a few willing rivals. No booking needed.

November 8. Free participation; visitors without annual TK Park membership pay B20 daily admission. TK Park. TK Park, eighth floor, centralwOrld. 11am-5pm.

What do butterflies and fish have in common? Butterfly & Fish, a collaboration between illustrator and storyteller Pi-near and papercut artist papeterie,looks for connections between creatures from very different worlds. Through drawing and cut paper, the artists explore growth, change, memory and the stories gathered along a journey. Butterflies transform above ground while fish navigate beneath the water’s surface; the works bring those separate paths together through the small moments and shared experiences that connect them.

October 29-November 24. Free entry. Soko Gallery, Sukhumvit Soi 32. Thursday-Tuesday 11am-6pm; closed Wednesday.