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You enter a wide hall and join a crowd of strangers gathered around a performance stage, awkwardly shuffling into place. You’re grouped with people you’ve never met: alto, soprano, tenor or bass.
Then you sing your heart out, fully and without restraint, alongside everyone there, and the awkwardness fades. A variety of voices, including yours, somehow blend into a beautiful symphony. You leave with a warm memory of a moment you all built together.
This is what Nyanyi Bareng Jakarta (NBJ) offers, a unique experience I’ve never quite seen before in this city.
“It’s like being in a choir. Everyone was just in tune singing songs we were all passionate about,” says Adele, a fellow writer who joined NBJ’s Wicked night.
Launched early last year, NBJ has quickly grown into a feel-good community united by songs.
“Singing is a simple act anyone can do. What we hoped to do when we started NBJ was to create a place where people can connect through performing,” says Meda Kawu, its cofounder and program director.
“This sort of shared activity just makes sense in Indonesia. We are a communal society, gotong royong is part of who we are. It’s a perfect fit.”
Meda started NBJ with her two friends, Gladys Santoso and Jusuf Winardi, inspired by similar “singing with strangers” movements abroad, including New York’s Gaia Music Collective and Singapore’s Sing Social Club.
The momentum has been real. Their first event in April 2025 drew around 70 participants. A tribute to Glenn Fredly, alongside The Bakuu Cakar attracted more than 500 in early September. A collaboration with Untitled Humans Singing Club and Maliq & D’Essentials drew nearly 700 last October.
So how does it work and what makes people sing so openly with strangers?
Making music feel easy
“It’s a fresh and unique experience that really breaks the routine, and it brings people from all walks of life together,” Kika, a participant, told me after one of NBJ’s events.
The key to making everyone comfortable lies in NBJ’s deliberate simplification of music.
”We never use any music theory jargon. If we want to warm up a lower vocal range, we ask participants to make the sound of a cow. For higher notes, it’s an ambulance,” Meda says.
By leaning on analogies rather than terms like pianissimo or fortissimo, NBJ lowers the intimidation factor.
“We break harmonies down into simple melodies. We turn it into pecahan Batak (Batak-style vocal partitioning), just do re mi fa sol la si do,” Meda says.
The singing facilitators are just as important as the format.
“Facilitators don’t just guide the singing, they encourage it. People start off shy, but after running through the melodies, they’re belting the chorus by the end of the night,” Gladys says.
This reinforces NBJ’s core belief: Anyone can sing, and judgment has no place here.
”When people feel safe to just sing, it creates an infectious vibe,” Meda says.
“It creates a synergy, encouraging everyone to use their voice louder.”
No two NBJ events are the same. Each comes with a new vocal arrangement and a rotating mix of genres, Bon Jovi during Rocktober, Defying Gravity during Wicked week, Petualangan Sherina for Children’s Month.
That variety keeps participants guessing and returning. And sometimes, the artists themselves even join in.
“We’ve had an event singing Honne songs, with Honne actually participating,” Meda recalls.
“In September 2025, we also had Feast and Efek Rumah Kaca singing, not on stage but with the crowd.”
NBJ events are easy to join, you just have to be quick enough to secure a spot. Tickets range from free to around Rp 200,000, sometimes with extras like goodies or surprise guests. Upcoming dates are always announced on their Instagram.
A singing fourth space
What's more striking isn’t just the temporary choir, but what comes after the singing ends.
“There’s definitely been a shift from our initial vision,” Jusuf says.
“Now, aside from the stress release of singing, we want to create an experience where friendship and support can grow naturally.”
The NBJ team believes the response reflects a deeper longing in Jakarta, not just a third space, but a kind of fourth space. Not quite home, not work and more than just a casual hangout. It’s a softer place built on shared feeling and sound, where status, profession and background matter less than being fully present in the moment.
Kika felt it even on her first visit.
“It’s such a positive environment to be surrounded by people who are just focused on singing. And with each theme or song, it's always a different experience.”
Over time, people start recognizing familiar faces, staying a little longer, making plans afterward.
“We’ve heard stories of people becoming friends, hanging out after events and returning together,” Jusuf says.
“That’s very heartwarming, and maintaining that is the goal for us now.”
What’s next
With NBJ’s popularity rising, the team is planning new formats for 2026.
”We can’t reveal too much yet, we're still cooking,” Meda says. “But we want to lean deeper into the community side, including using our platform to support local MSMEs that align with our values.”
They’re also working on new programs, ones NBJ hasn’t attempted before.
Having joined a few NBJ events myself, I’m looking forward to what comes next.
The same goes for Adele. “There’s this thrilling sense of pride when everything comes together. I’d love to join another event when the music resonates.”
In a city that rarely slows down, NBJ offers something simple but special: a moment of harmony, built by strangers, shared just long enough to be felt.
