Orange County: Funeral of Journalist Kỳ Phát – A Musical Farewell by Fellow Artists

                                        

  
By Huỳnh Phú Thứ

CALI TODAY NEWS - On Thursday afternoon, May 8, 2025, at Peek Family Funeral Home in Orange County, California, friends and colleagues gathered to bid farewell to journalist and artist Kỳ Phát.

The ceremony was attended predominantly by fellow musicians and singers from the local Vietnamese American community.

Born Huỳnh Hoàn Phát in 1947 in Quảng Ngãi Province, Vietnam, Kỳ Phát passed away on April 23, 2025, at his home in Orange County at the age of 78.

As a young man, he moved to Saigon to study and became involved in the vibrant youth music scene, producing successful concerts, adapting foreign songs into Vietnamese, and releasing popular cassette tapes before 1975.

Following the fall of Saigon, he and his family resettled in the United States in the early 1990s.

In 1995, he founded Trẻ Magazine, a biweekly publication focusing on music and film within the Vietnamese American community. The magazine ceased publication in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having released 543 issues over 25 years.

Kỳ Phát's contributions significantly enriched Vietnamese-language media in Orange County, often regarded as the cultural capital of the Vietnamese diaspora.

Known for his gentle demeanor, Kỳ Phát was beloved by many in the music community.

In November 2024, he was diagnosed with spinal cancer. Despite undergoing three surgeries and two rounds of chemotherapy, his health declined, and he passed away after five months of illness.

In February 2025, friends organized a tribute concert at the Bleu nightclub to honor and support him, which he attended with joy.

He is survived by his wife and daughter. Tragically, his son had passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic at the age of 30. According to his wishes, both father and son's ashes will be scattered at sea.

The funeral was marked by heartfelt performances from numerous artists, including musician Nam Lộc and singers Phương Hồng Quế, Thế Sơn, Giáng Ngọc, Trọng Nghĩa, Hương Thơ, Ái Phương, Kim Yến, Thái Hoàng, Philip Huy, and Sỹ Đan, accompanied by keyboardist Mai Trí Dũng and guitarist Quang Bùi.

Musician and journalist Trần Chí Phúc spoke at the service, highlighting Kỳ Phát's legacy through Trẻ Magazine.

He noted that Quảng Ngãi Province has produced notable figures like journalist Nguyễn Vỹ and poets Bích Khê and Tế Hanh, and now adds journalist Kỳ Phát to its list of distinguished natives.

Singer Phong Dinh performed the song "Về Nơi Chưa Tới" ("To the Unreached Place") by Trần Chí Phúc, accompanied by the composer himself, as a final tribute:

"Like a sparkling dew, like a wave crest, like a flash across the sky, life passes like a dream. That day I was born, now it's time to depart, the sacred moment has come, wishing you all peace."

At 2 p.m., attendees accompanied Kỳ Phát to the adjacent cremation site.

Orange County has seen several funerals where musicians gather to sing farewells, adding a poetic touch to the solemnity. Kỳ Phát's funeral was serene and harmonious, reflecting the gentle spirit of the artist himself.

Listen to "Về Nơi Chưa Tới" here: