MIRI: The second edition of Asia Music Festival is set to take centre stage here this coming October.
(From left) Rashid, Lai and Kueh revealing Asian Music Festival promotional banners after the press conference.
The event will be held over two days from Oct 3-4 at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club (Eastwood).
“We are very happy to have this festival for the second year. It will be a signature event for Miri, just like the annual Borneo Jazz which is drawing many tourists into Miri every year,” said mayor Lawrence Lai.
He was speaking at a press conference in conjunction with the launch of the Asia Music Festival yesterday.
He said Miri was honoured to be chosen the venue for the international festival, and hoped that during the many more years to come the event would become bigger and bigger.
“I was told that this festival will be in Miri for at least five years and we are only in the second year now. Every year, we will improve the festival by including more activities and being more creative.
“Perhaps next year, we will come up with golf packages especially for golfers who want to enjoy their game and relax to good live music later in the evening,” he disclosed.
Also present were Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan and Eastwood chief director councillor Kueh Chie Tiong.
The inaugural event held in 2013 was a success with over 3,000 people attending.
It is set to become another iconic music festival for Sarawak after the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in Kuching and Borneo Jazz here.
STB will bring together several key musicians from India, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore as well as Malaysia to this year’s event.
“Arising from the success of the inaugural event last year, the board is motivated by its success and hopes to attract visitors to the resort city of Miri. With well-known bands from the region performing at this coming event, we hope that fellow Malaysians and our neighbours will take this opportunity to witness their favourite bands perform,” said Rashid.
He added that the board looked forward to attracting the Asian expatriate community working in neighbouring countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the region to come and enjoy the music.
The atmosphere is planned to be that of a carnival as apart from the night shows, there will also be a tattoo exhibition, food representing countries in the Asian region and CDs of the bands to take home.
Asia Music Festival promises an extraordinary weekend of fun, music and more, against the stunning backdrop of the venue, Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club. A mixture of live music will be featured throughout the two day-event and will include a mixed-genre of music from regional, national and local talents.
The confirmed line-up of performers includes SoulMate (India), Ras Muhamad (Indonesia), Pancake80 (Philippines), Pisco (Taiwan), Retrospect (Thailand), Masia One (Singapore) and Malaysian bands MAD August and Salammusik.
Entry tickets are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children or students aged 3-18 (ID required during entry).
However, presale tickets at RM25 per adult and RM10 per child are still available online and from all STB’s Visitors Information Centres located at Sarawak Tourism Complex, Kuching (082-423600), Jalan Melayu, Miri (085-434180) and Jalan Tukang Besi, Sibu (084-340980).
For enquiries, contact STB at [email protected] or 082-239171 or logon www.asiamusicfestiva.net for more updates.