Folk materials also have their own identities, with a harmonious combination of tradition and modernity, giving uniqueness to each artwork, warmly welcomed by the audience.

The traditional performing art of Son La ethnic groups are very diverse and rich. Each ethnic group has its own art forms with unique traits in the overall cultural picture in Son La. Notably among them are lullabies, nursery rhymes, love singing, New Year celebration singing, and call and response singing at weddings, among others of the Thai, Mong, Dao and Muong ethnic groups.

Traditional folk music has instruments that are considered symbols of ethnic cultures, such as Khen (panpipe), flute, pi - a generic name for double reed (four small pieces of dried palm leaf folded into two), leaf flute, drums, gong, rattle bell, and gour lute- stringed musical instrument from tianqin.

Meanwhile, mass dances include Xoe of the Thai people and Tha Kenh of the Mong ethnic group, bell dance of the Dao people, and Au Eo, Hun May and Tang Bu of the Kho Mu and La Ha ethnic groups. They are attached to and enriched the lives of the ethnic groups for thousands of years, and are an inseparable part of the country's traditional art treasure.

In order to create works that carry the soul of folk art, generations of the provincial Music, Song and Dance Theatre’s artists have worked hard to learn, research, and learn from the public, especially artisans, distilling the quintessence of various types of performances into contemporary artworks with national influences.

Quite a few works by artists of the provincial Music, Song and Dance Theatre have won high prizes at national art festivals, earning fame for Son La's professional arts, such as the dance “Giua dong Da Giang” (In the Da Giang", “Vui don mua moi” (Happy to welcome the new crop), and Khen performances. The theatre’s professional artworks always have a harmonious combination of folk elements and modernity, plus storylines, reflecting the reality. They are warmly welcomed by the audience.

It can be seen that folk music and mass dances always have a lasting vitality over time, and form an indispensable part of the ethnic groups’ spiritual life, as well as are an important part of their thousand-year-old culture.

Currently, Son La province is implementing the project "Preserving and promoting the values of folk music and mass dances of ethnic minorities in Son La province associated with tourism development" for the 2022-2030 period. Accordingly, annual tasks of the culture sector also include solutions to constantly improve the quality of various types of performances in line with orientations to build unique and meaningful tourism products and an attractive cultural image of Son La in the eyes of tourists.