Bangkok Island, the long-anticipated live music venue on a boat, will set sail with its first festival on Dec 1.

Those confirmed to join the Bangkok Island: First Cruise event include underground mainstays like Isaan-soul singer Rasmee, experimental veterans Stylish Nonsense, world music septet Yaan, quirky rockers The Ginkz and D&B pioneer DJ Dragon.

Tickets for the cruise are on sale now at Ticketmelon for B700 until Oct 30, B900 until Nov 20 and B1,050 after that.

"We are not making a club or a party boat, but a space to be used by all kinds of different people for different reasons," Yuval Schwok, the founder of Bangkok Island, told us in an interview last year.

Fed up with Bangkok nightlife’s many restrictions, Schwok, who is also the owner of Charansanitwong’s alternative live music venue The Overstay, began work on this 320-capacity, modified sand barge seven years ago in the hope of bringing something new to the scene.

"When you go to a restaurant do you always eat the same dish? So why do you go out to the same places every weekend? A great night out happens when you get out of your comfort zone," he said.