PHUKET'S Roy (fun) Music Festival brought Karon to life again last night, with more people enjoying the beach party and headline bands than on Friday night.

Rough estimates put Saturday night's crowd at 5000 plus, which makes the whole shebang a huge hit and an idea that deserves to be followed up in future.

Music lovers were impressed with the quality of the top Thai acts, which could all be heard well despite a strong on-shore breeze.

Last night's tone was more hip-hop than rock, with the audience younger as a result. There were more Thais on the sand last night, too, compared to Friday when the audience was a mix of Westerners and Thais.

''This is great,'' one young fan told Phuketwan. ''To have quality acts like these appearing on Phuket is wonderful.''

One of the groups, Thaitanium, scattered handfuls of their new CD out among the audience.

The show was free, which always helps. It was set on the wide beach, with a large stage, a projection screen for those at the rear, and all the usual lighting effects.

A canvas ''town'' consisting of food stalls and souvenirs sprang up to give both concerts a feeling of being at a European music festival, except for the warm weather.

Was it the biggest beach dance party in Southeast Asia? Perhaps. It certainly will be, if it is held on an annual basis.

Phuket's regional TAT director director, Setthaphan Buddhani, said: ''All in all, this music festival will boost tourism and the local economy.''

Coming next at Karon beach is the international women's volleyball in November. For Phuket, there's the Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival in Patong on October 3, follwed by the Vegetarian Festival from October 18-26.