Rock legend Rick Wakeman played piano for 150 rescued moon bears in Vietnam; he now wants the last 125 bears still caged on bile farms moved to sanctuaries

Most pianists perform for crowds that clap, cheer, and request encores. Rick Wakeman, the celebrated keyboard player from the band Yes, on the other hand, recently played live for a very different audience, more than 150 rescued moon bears in a Vietnamese forest sanctuary. The concert was joyful, but it emerged not only out of his love for the wildlife but also carried an urgent purpose. Wakeman wants the last 125 bears still locked in cages on old bile farms moved to sanctuaries before more of them die. Here’s what happened at the concert, how the bears reacted, and why moon bears need protection.How Rick Wakeman played a grand piano for more than 150 rescued moon bears in a Vietnamese sanctuaryThe Guardian reported on Thursday, 24 September 2026, that Wakeman, a former member of Yes who went on to a prolific solo career, performed live on a Yamaha grand piano in Animals Asia's bear sanctuary in Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam. He had written new compositions especially for the rescued bears. The charity Animals Asia runs the sanctuary. Wakeman, who supports animal welfare causes and has rescue dogs and cats of his own, held the concert to raise awareness of moon bears kept in cruel conditions so their bile can be extracted. He also joked about the weather, telling the newspaper the heat was double that of the English heatwave, and that a fan would only blow more hot air around.The new pieces Wakeman wrote for Moon Bears Dawn and MoonRolling Stone, in a report, described the show as a private concert in which Wakeman sat at a grand piano and played new music written for the bears. He performed two new pieces about the rescued moon bears Dawn and Moon, along with two songs about bears called Cyril Wolverine and Rocky (The Legacy). Video of the performance shows several bears coming to the edge of the enclosure to listen. Wakeman has sponsored rescued bears since 2016 and recently adopted a new one, a big 20-month-old male. When Wakeman visited, the young bear came to the edge of the enclosure, stood on his back legs, and stared at him, which Wakeman called brilliant.Why Wakeman refused to play The Teddy Bear's Picnic for his audienceWakeman joked before the performance that he would not be playing the well-known children's song about a teddy bear's picnic. Asked whether the bears would enjoy the music, he said they had little choice, but that all animals react to music, especially gentle, melodic music, so he planned to play exactly that and hoped the bears would come to the edge of the sanctuary to listen. His experience at home shapes that belief. He plays music for his rescue dogs and cats in Suffolk, and said that his dogs walk out if they dislike a piece, while his cats do not enjoy metal, grunge, or rap and want a melody. One cat used to jump on his grand piano and rattle the strings until he started playing again.Why Moon Bears are rescued from Vietnam's bile farms and how the illegal trade harms Asiatic black bearsAccording to a 2015 report from Phys.org, Bile is taken from bears for traditional Chinese medicine by inserting a needle into the gallbladder and drawing the fluid out. The bears are kept in poor conditions in several countries, including China and Vietnam. Vietnam has just banned the practice, yet some bears remain in cramped enclosures. The trade is the fourth biggest market in the illegal wildlife trade in East Asia and has caused a dramatic decline in Asiatic black bear numbers in Vietnam. Nearly a third of their numbers around the world have been lost in just 30 years. Wakeman said that before rescue, many bears were chained in cages for 10 or 20 years, in conditions where they could not even turn around.Why Wakeman wants the last 125 caged bears moved to sanctuariesThe concert's message is urgent. Wakeman said he is playing to raise awareness for the bears still stuck in cages in Vietnam and to urge the government to release them. According to Wakeman, the sanctuary holds 150 bears, but 125 remain in cages in the old bear bile farms, and four die each month. He said they must be moved to the sanctuary quickly. Wakeman said it is moving to watch the rescued bears, which he described as not tame but very safe and very happy, and he saw two of them playing in a bubble bath. He added that some of them had never set their feet on grass before. Doctor Jill Robinson, the founder and chief executive officer of Animals Asia, said the charity is beyond blessed to have his support and that his love for the bears can be heard in the haunting music he wrote for them.How readers can support bear rescue and keep attention on the 125 bears still waiting in old bile farmsThe Press Association via Irish News reported that Animals Asia has a petition urging the prime minister of Vietnam to help the charity free the bears still stuck in bile farms. It can be signed on the charity's website. Signing, sharing the story, and supporting rescue organisations are practical ways to keep attention on the bears while time is short. If Wakeman's numbers are right, every month of delay costs more animals their chance at a life in a sanctuary.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.