The khaen is a bamboo free-reed mouth organ prominent among people of Lao ethnicity in Laos and Northeast Thailand. In Thailand, the khaen is considered emblematic of the rural Northeast, but has also enjoyed periods of broader popularity in Thailand, including within the Thai royal courts in the mid-19th century. After a period of modernization during which traditional music was in danger of disappearing, the khaen is once again celebrated as a symbol of Northeast identity, taught in public schools, and figures into regional popular music. The polyphonic music of the khaen is traditionally played solo and to accompany a solo singer, employing improvisation within five different melodic modes. Recent institutionalization has placed a greater emphasis on composition and playing in ensembles with contemporary folk and electrified popular instruments. The author has contributed to the khaen becoming an international concert instrument, by composing, commissioning and recording modern notated works by living composers for the instrument. The paper will survey the changing cultural and musical contexts for the khaen, with demonstrations of traditional and contemporary playing styles and techniques.