On 28 August, Hoaprox graced the Bandwagon Pixel Party stage for the first time, and it was grand. Avatars danced, chatted with their friends, and mined for NFTs.  

But it wasn't just the music artist who first experienced the wonder of a metaverse gig. There were a few handfuls of first-timers in attendance—myself included.

I have to admit, the concept of a metaverse gig can be daunting at the beginning. But beyond the confusing jargon and the fairly big amount of time on your computer is a gateway to music like you've never experienced before. And fun. A lot of fun.

Metaverse pre-game

But before you get to enter this whole new world, you have to make a virtual persona first. The first step is to own a crypto wallet, which is fairly easy and absolutely free on Metamask. This is where you get to store your Bandwagon NFT Attendance Pass.

Once you have that, you'd need to make an account on Decentraland. And while it may seem like such a chore, it's not. Especially because you get to create your very own avatar.

It's really like customizing a character for a video game, like The Sims or Genshin Impact. And if you're not much a gamer such as myself, let me tell you how nostalgic it felt when I got to design my virtual persona. It honestly felt good to have a head full of lavender hair for the night.

Get the (virtual) party started

Now it's time to party! Online, of course.

Entering the arena feels a lot like entering a music festival. Bandwagon Pixel Party provides a 360-degree view of the festival grounds. I particularly enjoyed looking up from the first-person point of view and seeing the virtual sky, all lit up.

Getting around was also fairly easy. The navigation tools are familiar. Busting a move isn't a problem here, too: my avatar—as well as the others—has built-in dance steps in her that I could match from the comfort of my living room as Hoaprox played on a big screen.

The highlight of the event, of course, is the performance of the Vietnamese DJ. Aside from his hit party anthems, Hoaprox also dished out familiar tunes, such as Kanye's 'All Of the Lights' mashed with Ava Max's 'Sweet but Psycho.'

I couldn't help but be in awe of the small details programmed into the venue to make it feel like a complete festival experience, like the virtual posters I could read from and virtual container vans I could dance on top of. There was even a jukebox I could play tunes from! Click the right option and it leads you to discover new songs from a Bandwagon-curated playlist on Spotify.

Of course, it's not a metaverse party without the chance to score some NFTs. Just like a virtual scavenger hunt, attendees can look for purple rocks and crack them open to look for NFTs of Hoaprox single.

They can also join a car race where they can win special edition NFTs if they stay top of the ranks.

Now, that may not sound so appealing to those who do not collect NFTs. For someone who's new in this like me, though, I recommend reveling in seeing your avatar all spruced up, the way you would when you purchase merch at music festivals like Hydeout, Wanderland, or Clockenflap.

Final thoughts

Overall, Bandwagon Pixel Party was a blast, something worth trying perhaps by yourself the first time, then with friends the second, third, and all the other times after. The one thing missing was a bottle of beer or two—but I took care of that irl.

Experience the metaverse at the next Bandwagon Pixel Party is happening on 11 September 2022, 11 AM GMT +8 / 10 September 2022, 11 PM GMT. Learn more about that here.