KUCHING – Sarawak’s headliner tourism attraction, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) has proven that it is more than just a music festival if this year’s sell-out crowd is anything to go by. A capacity crowd of 23,650 from all parts of the world attended the three-day festival. This year’s nightly concert was artfully arranged in a seamless and flawless sequence. The 2019 line up featured 30 bands and over 200 performers. From the ...

KUCHING:  RWMF 2019 will feature five Sarawak Bands who will play alongside some of the most prolific world music bands from all parts of the world. The wildly popular At Adau brings the ancient melodies and rhythms from the different tribes in Borneo to the 21st century by fusing it with contemporary elements.  The seven member group combine sape’ tunes and traditional percussion from the Bidayuh and Iban with their own arrangements to presen...

KUCHING: For the first time ever, Spirit of the Hornbills will bring their vibrant, unique cultural dance to this year Rainforest World Music Festival. It is a dance academy that teaches Dayak traditional dance, through their unique passion and enthusiasm in dancing, headed by Chief Siti Habibah and Apriyadi as Vice Chief. The main purpose Spirit of The Hornbill is to conserve Central Kalimantan art and culture to the next future generation...

KUCHING: Sedaa means "voice" in Persian and connects traditional Mongolian music with the Orient which makes an extraordinary and fascinating sound, the group consists with master singers Naranbaatar Purevdorj, Nasanjargal Ganbold and Ganzorig Davaakhuu together with Omid Bahadori, a Persian multi-instrumentalist and composer also living in Germany. Sedaa created a genuinely exotic connection that transcends borders and cultures. Their music p...

Music is fundamental in the Moroccan daily life and it is at the heart of this nation's cultural heritage. At this year’s RWMF, festival goers will have the rare opportunity to experience the music of Mehdi Nassouli whose passion for preserving Moroccan music is matched by his energetic and engaging stage presence. Born in Taroudant in southern Morocco, Mehdi experienced the rhythms and sounds of traditional Moroccan culture while growing up. ...

KUCHING: The iconic Rainforest World Music Festival has spawned new ways of thinking about music of other cultures and indeed music from our own backyard. World music, considering its unique features, over the years, promoted intercultural communication between diverse communities within and beyond Borneo. It is a wonderful opportunity to listen to sounds from all corners of the world and learn about different and unique musical instruments. T...

UK’s most influential dancehall toaster and festival goers can work up a serious sweat during his most anticipated performance. Macka B will be one of the highlights at this year's Rainforest World Music Festival. Macka B is a British-born Jamaican reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning nearly four decades in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. He also has built a career on his insanely unique delivery and stage presence, wit...

KUCHING: Ha Noi Duo are two celebrated Vietnamese musicians who were raised with different paths in their music journey. Their music is beautifully organic in essence, yet with unabashedly modern flourishes and they create inspiring work, that casts a lasting spell. Nguyên Lê is an acclaimed jazz star who needs no introduction. Based in Paris, he collaborates with fellow countrymen. His work with pop singer Tùng Dương that won Best Song, Man o...

KUCHING: This year edition of RWMF is proud to host Oki Kano representing the Ainu (Japan) for the first time ever. Growing up in Japan, Oki graduated from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music. He moved to New York in 1987 where he worked as a special effects artist on film productions and returned to Japan in 1992. The multi-talented musician Oki never knew he was part of a “vanishing” race as many in the tribe chose to keep their h...

KUCHING: There is no doubt that Latin and music from the Spanish-speaking world is far outpacing many other genres on the world music stage. There has always been a Latin group thrown in the mix at the Rainforest World Music Festival and at the 22nd edition this year there will be two bands – La Chiva Gantiva from Colombia who will provide an insight into their roots with their sensual, upbeat, danceable and contagious music and Ana Alcaide from ...

RWMF 2019 is proud to present two very similar cultures but very different acts from the most South-eastern point of Oceania, the Chilean island of Rapa Nui and the South-western Pacific nation of Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand). There is always a ripple of excitement going through the crowds when Polynesian bands from Oceania perform at any music festival around the world. Whether it is the exotic, beautifully sensual nature of the ...