Famous songs by the late songwriter Trịnh Công Sơn, a talented artist in Vietnamese contemporary music, will be featured in Em và Trịnh – Chuyện những nàng thơ  (You and Trịnh Công Sơn- Love Stories), a concert tour opening in HCM City on Thursday. The tour includes five shows in HCM City, Đà Lạt, Huế, Hà Nội and Cần Thơ. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY— Famous songs by the late songwriter Trịnh Công Sơn, a talented artist in Vietnamese contemporary music, will be featured in a concert tour in HCM City on Thursday. 

The event, Em và Trịnh – Chuyện Những Nàng Thơ  (You and Trịnh Công Sơn- Love Stories), includes five shows in HCM City, Đà Lạt, Huế, Hà Nội and Cần Thơ. 

The first show on New Year’s Eve will highlight pop star Cẩm Vân and young singers Avin Lu, Thịnh Suy, CeCe Trương and Lan Thy.

Sơn’s popular works, including Biển Nhớ, Ru Tình (Lullaby to Love), Huế-Sài Gòn-Hà Nội and Nối Vòng Tay Lớn (Circle of Unity), will be performed.

Organised by Sơn’s family and Galaxy Studio, the tour is part of a launching project for Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh), a film about the life and career of Sơn. The film will be in cinemas next year. 

Em và Trịnh portrays Sơn and his music in the 1960s and 70s. 

Sơn’s love life is also highlighted. The love between Sơn and a Japanese fan, Yoshii Michiko, during Sơn's time in Paris in the 80s, is featured. Yoshii later travelled to Việt Nam many times to discover Sơn and his music. The couple decided to wed. They faced cultural differences and then cancelled the wedding at the last minute. 

Dao Ánh and Bích Diễm, who inspired some of Sơn’s famous romantic songs, are featured.

The film’s producer, Galaxy Studio, invited blockbuster director Phan Gia Nhật Linh to guarantee the production’s quality.

Two young actresses, Phạm Nguyễn Lan Thi and Hoàng Hà, play the lead roles in the film. They were chosen from over 500 candidates, including professional artists, from Hà Nội, Huế and HCM City.

According to director Linh, the producer and its partners spent more than VNĐ20 billion (US$860,000) on Em và Trịnh. “We hope the film will meet the demands of Sơn’s Vietnamese and foreign fans,” he said. 

Young Actor Avin Lu as late songwriter Trịnh Công Sơn in a scene from Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh), a film on the artist’s life and career. The film will be in cinemas next year. Photo courtesy of the producer

Born in Huế in 1939, Sơn became popular in 1957 with his first song, Ướt Mi (Crying Eyes).

His lasting legacy includes albums of romantic love songs, such as Diễm Xưa (Diễm, My Cherished Memory) and Ru Tình (Lullaby To Love), released in the 1960s and 70s.  

Diễm Xưa is well-known in Japan, where it was introduced through singer Khánh Ly in Osaka in 1970. Later, the song was written in Japanese, Utsukushii Mukashi, and was listed among Japan’s top 10 favourite love songs.

Sơn went on to become southern Việt Nam’s most famous songwriter of anti-war music collections including Ca Khúc Da Vàng (Yellow Skin Song), Kinh Việt Nam (Vietnamese Prayer) and Ta Phải Thấy Mặt Trời (We Must See The Sunlight).

He is called the "Bob Dylan of Việt Nam” by his fans at home and abroad.

He died in HCM City in 2001 after a prolonged illness.

The first show of the concert tour Em và Trịnh – Chuyện Những Nàng Thơ will begin at 7pm on Thursday at Diamon Plaza Lê Duẩn in District 1. It will be livestreamed on Tiktok Galaxy Play and on YouTube. — VNS