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Do Nguyen Mai Khoi gave her new show the ironic title “Bad Activist.” But the Vietnamese celebrity, who’s currently living in self-imposed exile in Pittsburgh, also might have called it “Bad Pop Star.”
Mai performs in Bad Activist.
These days, she’s working on her music, studying English, and living with her husband in a house on the North Side courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh’s Scholars at Risk program. But just a few years ago, Mai Khoi, 37, was a star in Vietnam. In 2010, her patriotic tune “Vietnam” won a state-run broadcaster’s big contest, and she went on to record ballads, pop-country numbers, and dance tunes, sing and dance in splashy videos, and give live concerts. She even toured internationally.
Andrew Gilbert January 12, 2021Updated: January 15, 2021, 9:07 am
Musician Mai Khoi Photo: Diaspora Arts Connection
Banned. Censored. Arrested. Scorned. For some women raising their voice is more than an act of self-expression.
“Let Her Sing: A Celebration of Female Voices” is a yearly concert focusing on vocalists who defy patriarchal restrictions, state repression and cultural marginalization, and this latest installment has adapted to the necessities of social distancing. Recorded last month at Freight & Salvage, the online concert premieres Saturday, Jan. 16, and will be available to stream for a limited time after that date.
Co-presented with the Berkeley venue and streamed via its website, the fourth annual “Let Her Sing” concert is the latest production by Diaspora Arts Connection, the East Bay organization that champions North American musicians with roots in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.