Singapore has a long line of music history -- it goes back way further than most Singaporean youths are aware of.

And while it would be worth anyone’s while to see what transpired in the swinging ‘60s, the scene we have now in the new millennium is nothing short of exciting, inspiring and occasionally intoxicating.

The ‘60s saw a massive boom of local bands who succeeded both locally and regionally -- some internationally -- but things slowed down in the ‘70s due to various reasons: A ban on discos and long hair being the greatest offenders. While the scene did its best to recover in the following decades, (and we did have some awesome bands and musicians – check out the +65 Singapore Underground triple-disc album for proof), it never was quite it had been in the heydays of Singapore’s independence.

Despite all that, the local music scene has a significant amount of followers, frenzied fans, and as far as Facebook goes, lots more friends compared to just a few years ago. The age of the internet has undoubtedly helped the scene to develop with social media sites like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, but all this would come to naught if there were no listeners, fans or viewers.

There was a scene anxious to be heard, and it needed a stage. That’s exactly what they got: Enter Baybeats. Suddenly, local bands had a local stage to strive for, a platform for aspiring musicians, and a recognition that placed them on the same scale as international acts. After the first Baybeats, people began to realise that if this was big, it could only get bigger.

It’s been nine years, and Baybeats is still as rocking as ever. Kathir from Metal band Rudra (pictured below), who performed at Baybeats 2010 Day 1, fills us in on the importance of big events like Baybeats.

“I think Baybeats showcases a lot of these bands that may otherwise go unnoticed. So it is a positive stream in the local indie scene,” said the Rudra frontman.

And things are set to go uphill from here, a sentiment that Kathir agrees with.

“The scene is at its peak right now in my opinion. We are seeing more bands putting out album after album and that is a good sign… but my opinion is that bands need to keep releasing albums and (going on) gigs all around the world. Between the two, the former is more important.”

In a local industry where making music is often not financially supportive of musicians, many of whom have to keep day jobs to support themselves. So most of the time, it is pure passion that keeps the music alive for this brave bunch.

Basement in My Loft, who put up a solid show on Day 2, is honest but hopeful on their take on the local music scene.

“The scene is seriously under-supported and therefore hard to grow or be taken seriously by the international stage.”

"Baybeats definitely has an effect on this equation: getting the local bands to tighten up their act and get their stuff together.”

Another local audition band Duxton Plains agrees that Baybeats has “played a huge, pivotal role” on the indie-alternative scene here.

With all that said and done, there is undoubtedly an increasing surge of hope and opportunities for the future; the music-laden path towards it is brighter than ever before.

Keep your eyes on the stage, for it’s all uphill from here. We’re in the age of indie, and Baybeats is the perfect loudspeaker.