Live Music
Siem Reap has a livelier music scene than most visitors expect. It ranges from traditional Khmer performance at cultural venues to acoustic sets at riverside bars, jazz in cocktail lounges, and full bands at the clubs on and around Pub Street. An evening built around live music here is genuinely easy to put together and rewarding enough to be worth planning.
The most important distinction is between live performance in its conventional sense and Phare, the Cambodian circus. They belong on the same page because they share the same evening slot and both deserve serious consideration.
If you only have one evening and are choosing between a bar crawl on Pub Street and Phare, go to Phare. You can drink anywhere. You cannot see this anywhere else.
Phare, the Cambodian Circus
Phare is not a circus in any conventional sense. It is a performance company run by graduates of Phare Ponleu Selpak, a non-profit arts school in Battambang that provides free education to disadvantaged Cambodian youth. The performers are acrobats, musicians, actors, and dancers who tell stories drawn from Cambodian history, folklore, and contemporary social issues through a combination of physical theatre, live music, and extraordinary acrobatics. Shows run approximately one hour. No two shows are identical and the production changes regularly.
Phare performs in a purpose-built big top tent near the Old Market on most evenings. Tickets cost around $18 to $38 depending on category, with a percentage going directly to the school. Every ticket purchase contributes to a programme that has trained hundreds of students who would otherwise have had no access to arts education. It is one of the best things you can do in an evening in Siem Reap, and the quality of the performance would be remarkable anywhere in the world. Book in advance, particularly during peak season. A full schedule is available at pharecircus.org.
Traditional Khmer Performance
Apsara dance and traditional Cambodian music are performed at several venues around the city, most commonly combined with dinner. The best of these is covered in the Apsara Dance page on SiemReapLife.com. The Siem Reap Art Center Night Market on the east bank of the river also hosts traditional performances most evenings in an open-air setting without the dinner requirement.
Live Music Bars
Miss Wong: On The Lane near Pub Street. A Shanghai 1930s speakeasy atmosphere with strong cocktails and occasional live acoustic sets. Quieter and more intimate than most options on the strip. One of the more genuinely atmospheric bars in the city. Opens Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm.
Asana Old Wooden House: Just off Pub Street in a restored traditional Cambodian wooden house. Original gin cocktails made in-house, recycled material decor, and an unhurried warmth that is the opposite of everything happening twenty metres away on the main strip. Live acoustic music on some evenings. Worth finding.
Barcode: Consistently mentioned for live entertainment with talented performers and elaborate productions. Multiple reviewers describe it as genuinely fun rather than just loud. Good drinks at reasonable prices for the quality of what is on stage.
The Angkor What? Bar: The oldest bar on Pub Street, open since 1998. Reliably busy, walls covered in visitors’ names going back decades, live DJs most evenings. Still one of the better options if you want a loud and social night.
X Bar: Corner of Sivatha Boulevard and Sok San Road. Rooftop bar and club with a six-foot half-pipe skateboarding ramp on the top floor, live music and DJs, billiards, and open until 4am. One of the more unusual bar setups in the city.
For a quieter evening away from the tourist strip, the Wat Bo and Street 26 area has a cluster of bars with a more local and expat character. Laundry Bar on Street 26 is one of the most consistently well-reviewed. Scribe Bar on Pokambor Avenue near the river does craft beers and imaginative cocktails in a thoughtful outdoor setting. Both are worth seeking out if the volume of Pub Street is not what you are after.
Practical Notes
Phare performs most evenings but check the current schedule at pharecircus.org as dark nights do occur. Book tickets online in advance.
A full listing of live music venues, bars, and evening entertainment is in the Going Out section of SiemReapLife.com.
