News often leans negative, so here’s something positive to brighten your workweek. It’s no surprise that music isn’t only for humans. Anybody with pets will tell you that animals also react to music. Watching an animal react to music can put a smile on your face, as you watch them try to figure out why they’re reacting.
On September 24, 2026, legendary rock pianist Rick Wakeman performed for over 150 rescued moon bears and sun bears. In Vietnam’s Tam Dao National Park, a bear sanctuary houses over 150 Asian bears. Wakeman’s performance is part of the Free The Final Bears campaign, an international initiative run by the charity Animals Asia. The charity raises money to rescue the last remaining captive bears on bile farms in Vietnam, hoping to end the cruel industry. Bile farming confines Asians bears in tiny cages while they repeatedly extract digestive bile from their gallbladders, using it for traditional Asian medicine.
Wakeman performed on a Yamaha grand piano, positioned next to the Animals Asia sanctuary. In front of around 150 bears, Wakeman performed two brand-new compositions written specifically for the occasion. The pieces are called “Dawn Reborn” and “Moon”. Additionally, he also performed the songs “Cyril Wolverine” and “Rocky (The Legacy)”. In the video, the bears curiously walk up to listen and even move around to the music. It’s a beautiful display of these creatures’ inherent intelligence.
More About Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman is best known as a former member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Yes. In addition to his time in the prog rock band, Wakeman was a highly sought-after session musician in the late 60s and 70s. Among the roughly 2,000 studio sessions from this time, Wakeman appeared on David Bowie’s hits “Space Oddity”, “Life On Mars?” and “Changes”. Additionally, he contributed piano on songs for Cat Stevens, Elton John, Marc Bolan, and Lou Reed before joining Yes in 1971.
Following the performance, Wakeman stated, “I feel immensely honoured to have played here in this beautiful setting to these incredible bears today. It is honestly the most extraordinary concert of my life. I was looking at the bears the whole time; I almost forgot what I was playing.”
He also added, “There were two bears in particular who came right up to the edge, and I deliberately played around with the music a little bit, as there were definitely certain things that they reacted to more than others. Obviously, we know music affects humans, so I now know it affects bears too. I hope this will bring awareness of how important it is to free the final bears. I believe about four a month are dying in captivity. You’ve got to look around at these wonderful, wonderful bears – and I defy anybody to not want to save them.”
Photo by Al Pereira/Getty Images
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