What is "xam"

Xẩm or Hát xẩm (Xẩm singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music which was popular in the Northern region of Vietnam but is nowadays considered an endangered form of traditional music in Vietnam. In the dynastic time, xẩm was generally performed by blind artists who wandered from town to town and earned their living by singing in common places. Xẩm artists often play đàn bầu or đàn nhị to accompany the songs themselves, and sometimes they form a band with one singer and others who play traditional instruments such as the drum or phách. The melodies of xẩm are borrowed from different types of Vietnamese folk music such as trống quân or quan họ, while its themes are generally The Tale of Kiều, Lục Vân Tiên, and other popular Vietnamese stories.