Mai Khôi & the Dissidents: "Bad Activist" and "Five Years in Exile" Album Release
About This Event
Mai Khôi brings Mai Khôi & the Dissidents to National Sawdust for the release of the albums "Bad Activist" and "Five Years in Exile". A Vietnamese singer-songwriter who blends traditional Vietnamese music with contemporary styles and often addresses social issues, she favors direct delivery and arrangements that keep voice and lyric in focus. The Dissidents, a collaborative project featuring various artists and performers, joins her in work that explores dissent and resistance.
About Bad Activist
At National Sawdust, *Bad Activist* arrives in New York as a classical concert performance led by Mai Khôi and Mai Khôi & the Dissidents. The work sits where composed form meets the lived realities of dissent, using the concert hall as a site for testimony rather than ornament. In a city that often absorbs political art into nightlife and branding, this appearance reads as a deliberate refusal to be softened. If this is its first major New York outing, it adds a sharp chapter to the city’s ongoing conversation about exile, voice, and who gets to speak onstage.
About the Artists
Mai Khôi & the Dissidents
Mai Khôi & the Dissidents is a musical ensemble led by Vietnamese singer-songwriter Mai Khôi, known for blending traditional Vietnamese music with contemporary styles and addressing social issues through their art.
Mai Khôi
Mai Khôi is an individual rock/pop artist whose work moves between songcraft and live-band electricity. In New York City she has appeared at National Sawdust, sharing bills in programs that range from indie rock lineups to contemporary music and interdisciplinary nights.
the Dissidents
The Dissidents is a collaborative project that features various artists and performers, often exploring themes of dissent and resistance through music and performance.